The Interfaith Homeless Outreach Council will return to the Voorhees Town Center Sunday, Feb. 24 for it’s Annual Mall Walk
The Interfaith Homeless Outreach Council (IHOC) is holding its 13thAnnual Mall Walk to raise funds for the homeless in the Voorhees Town Center on Sunday, Feb. 24, beginning at 1:30 p.m. All are invited to attend.
The IHOC began as an informal coalition of eight local congregations in 1989. They met to review the lack of facilities and programs for the homeless in Camden County. Today, the IHOC is comprised of over 40 congregations from many faiths and cultures.
The mall walk is one of the major fundraisers for this group and over the years has been enjoyed by thousands of friends, sponsors and supporters. The event is a full afternoon of activities, including face painting, magicians, balloon artists, tattoos and goodie bags. A local radio station will also be part of this year’s event. The walk is always scheduled for February because it is the middle of winter and that is when more people are homeless and in the cold.
IHOC has provided shelter, meals, conversation, counseling, job placement and mentoring to more than 800 men during the last 20 years. The IHOC flagship program annually takes in 12 homeless men and places them each for two weeks at a time with different congregations which house and feed them and help them with counseling as well as job placement. The program is run completely by volunteers and lasts from October through May. Many of the men become self-sufficient following the program. The different congregations provide different services for the men with some supplying clothes and others supplying Walmart gift cards. One of the churches has a dentist who cares for these men and one of the synagogues has an optometrist who provides free exams and even free eyeglasses.
The Voorhees Township Committee and I are proud to support the mission of the Interfaith Homeless Outreach Council and we have declared Feb. 24, 2019 as “Interfaith Homeless Outreach Council Day” in Voorhees Township. Please consider supporting this wonderful cause.
**The Voorhees Arts Center is offering a “Learn to Watercolor” painting class on
Feb. 22 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Voorhees Arts Center & Gallery in the Voorhees Town Center. This semi-private class is for beginners to intermediate students with only 6 spots available. The cost is $15 per class and if interested visit, www.sustainablevoorhees.org or call (609) 315–6218.
** Kindergarten registration for the 2019–2020 school year will take place at each neighborhood elementary school on the following dates: Wed., Mar. 13 for last names beginning with the letters A-L, Wed., Mar. 20 for last names beginning with the letters M-Z and Wed., Mar. 27 for make-up registrations. Each registration will run from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Contact the local school with any questions.
** The Alicia Rose Victorious Foundation Wine and Food Tasting will be held on Friday, March 22 from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at the Mansion on Main Street. Ticket donations are $50 per person in advance or $60 per person at the door. For reservations, call (856) 784–0615 or visit www.victoriousfoundation.org. The Foundation installs Teen Centers in hospitals throughout the country to bring hope, excitement and entertainment to teens facing difficult conditions while receiving hospital treatment.
