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Love Thy Neighbor…German Language School of Morris County Students Raise Funds for The Market Street Mission, Morristown
Morristown, N.J. (February 2017) – February, the month of all things red and romantic with red, hearts, roses, and chocolates, is also a time to show our love of friends and community. Students from the German Language School of Morris County (www.njlearnsgerman.organd www.glsmc.org), took that lesson to heart and raised $1,000 for The Market Street Mission (www.marketstreet.org), a Morristown haven for the needy for more than 128 years.
David was a hard-working, responsible accountant. A loyal husband, married 16 years. A proud father of two beautiful children. A church-going man. He loved his life.
Then tragedy struck…
“I had a heart attack at 34 years old and had a metal stent put in my heart,” he says. “They started me on Percocet and I fell in love with it.”
David had never done drugs before. He didn’t drink either, so he had no way of knowing that the Percocet would consume his life for the next six years. “I became lazy and didn’t want to go to work. I spiraled down,” he says.
The gulf between the number of individuals who suffer from addiction and the number of services available to them is, to coin a phrase from the old Bible School song, “deep and wide.” The Market Street Mission in Morristown is one of many nonprofits in New Jersey that tries to help fill that gulf. The mission is joined in a battle where the enemy has grown its strength several times over, and where those trying to save the day are outnumbered.
A BIG thank you to everyone who helped make our annual Coat Giveaway a HUGE success! We couldn’t have done it without YOU! Thank you for volunteering your Saturday morning to help distribute winter coats to those in need!
For those of you who love statistics, here are a few stats from Saturday:
- We served 224 individuals/families!
- 71% were from Asbury Park, followed by 10% from Neptune, 1% from Long Branch and 1% from Ocean Grove! Individuals also came from all over the Jersey Shore area.
- We distributed over 726 coats!
- 90+ volunteers donated over 256 hours on Saturday morning! (WOW!!)
Thank you again, to everyone who donated coats, volunteered their time, and helped spread the word about this event!
Joe’s home life was great. Wonderful parents. Two great sisters.
But there was a darker side to his story… when he was seven or eight, he was molested by another family member.
“I felt like the power and control were taken away from me,” he says. “I started smoking marijuana and drinking. I eventually crept into cocaine, and that’s where I found the power and authority I felt had been taken away.”
That secret kept Joe a prisoner for 36 years! “I was just getting by,” he says. “I sold drugs so I could get high. I never had a job for more than two or three months.”
I didn’t want to change. I was comfortable in the chaos. But God intervened. “When the change started… it was God’s work!”
Need space in your home? Donate your stuff to the Market Street Mission Thrift Store and help make a difference in the lives of others. Free donation pickup is available.
We now also offer house or room cleanouts. Contact us at (973) 538-0427 for a quote!
Thank you to AT&T for partnering with Market Street Mission and donating over 180 sandwiches to help feed those in need! This was one of several "Feed the City" events that took place last week within AT&T locations across the country. AT&T has always been a strong supporter of community involvement and have partnered with internal organizations across the country where the employees donate materials and time to make sandwiches to meet local needs.
Carl started drinking at age 17. “I was hanging out with the wrong crowds… wanting to fit in,” he says. “For some reason, I was drawn to the negativity.”
Over time, his substance abuse escalated – from alcohol to “weed” to heroin. “But I didn’t realize how out of control my life was going to get,” he shares. He began committing crimes and “doing the time.” Eventually, he went to prison for five years.
Benny was born into a cold and violent home.
“My mother had an alcohol addiction and was very abusive, physically and emotionally. My father was in prison, but she told me he was dead,” he says. “She abandoned me when I was three.”
Benny grew up in a detention facility and the homes of various relatives. “I know how it is to feel like no one loves you, to feel like you’re rotten and there’s something wrong with you,” he says.
Jacob was raised in a loving, close-knit, Christian home, but when he reached adolescence, he rebelled. “I started trying to fill a void with drugs and alcohol and relationships and chaos,” he says.
Jacob entered the military after high school, and his alcohol and drug abuse escalated. The military sent him to rehab for cocaine and pain pills, but when he was discharged, nothing changed. “Anytime I felt anything I didn’t want to feel, I masked it with alcohol and drugs, or I’d just run,” he says.
Eventually, Jacob lost everything. “I had warrants out for my arrest and I was doing odd jobs so I could get high every day,” he says. “I was running from the law, but in my heart I was running from the Lord.”