Volunteers from the Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden and Rutgers–Camden Public Health AmeriCorps joined forces with Love Ministries Outreach International to serve families in need this holiday season. Founded by Pastor Georgia A. Dennis, the Camden-based Love Ministries is a nonprofit that strives to ensure no one in the community goes to bed hungry; in 2023 alone, its food distribution program served 195,000 individuals throughout the South Jersey region.
Those who lent a hand were undeterred by the cold, wet conditions of a rainy morning on Monday, December 16. Working out of a parking lot at 1900 Carman Street in Camden, volunteers were able to provide food to more than 375 local families. A New Jersey Public Health AmeriCorps grant funded their efforts.
“The New Jersey Public Health AmeriCorps grant brought so much food and relief to our community in just a single day,” said Donna Nickitas, dean of the School of Nursing–Camden. “This program is doing all I knew it could do, meeting individuals and families where they are to address social determinants of health.”
Faculty and staff from the school, including Assistant Teaching Professor Thomas Dahan, Clinical Instructor Kimberly McGuinness, and Program Coordinator Roshana Follett, also brought their leadership to the initiative.
“It was an incredibly full, wet, and exhausting day serving families—Love Ministries volunteers come out three to four days a week and do not break for the weather, because Pastor Georgia always says that hunger does not go away when it is wet or cold,” McGuinness said. “Everyone involved exudes resilience and care for the communities they serve.”
Learn more about how you can support Rutgers–Camden Public Health AmeriCorps and Love Ministries Outreach International.
