"We thought it was very important (to come to Camden)," he said. "It's that city that's right there on the other side of the bridge that you forget about, but me being from Jersey, we wanted to do something in New Jersey specifically and Camden just made sense to us. Despite the rain, which Antioch pastor John Parker joked "baptized us all," about 800 families turned out for boxes of food, toiletries, books, school uniforms and supplies, and help with an array of social services.
Each family identified by Antioch Baptist Church received:
- One 25-pound box of nonperishable food items
- One 15-pound box of personal-care items
- One box of AVON products
- Books from Disney Publishing Worldwide
- Frito-Lay snacks
- PepsiCo beverages
- Life Original Cereal
- Quaker Standard Oats
- Chewy Granola Bars
- Variety of Campbell Soup products
In addition to providing enough food and daily essentials, the Get Ready Fest TM event offers an array of health-related services and information through the support of various community resource partners. These services include health screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, etc., education and social service information relating to GED, job training, and senior and veteran support services. Additionally, the event includes a children’s resource area that provides services, children’s books, school supplies, haircuts, face painting, and snacks.
