History of the Organization
On October of 2002, CityReach Ministries, a faith based, 501 (c) (3) corporation was birthed and initiated operations in West Kendall. By November 2002, after only a month, we were helping about 20 families with the basic necessities: food, clothing and furniture. Five months later, in March 2003, our first full-time staff was hired to run our food pantry. CityReach Ministries continued to provide these same basic services, but on a larger scale, as more and more families began coming to us for assistance.
By June of 2003, we were serving over 500 families. In addition to our free services, we opened a store where the needy families in our community could purchase additional items of food, clothing and household products at highly reduced prices. We also held a ‘Backpack to School’, our first event specifically for the children, in August 2003 providing over 500 children with backpacks and back to school supplies. At our 2003 Christmas outreach over 1,000 people attended and we provided Christmas gifts for over 500 children. These serviced continued through 2013.
Due to the difficult economy facing the Miami community, we had to downsized our operation towards the end of 2013. However, we continue to addressed what we consider to be the communities greatest needs with: FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS twice a month, the donation of PATRIES AND BREAD on a daily basis (except Thursdays), job leads, monthly WORKSHOPS to better educate the community on issues of finances, interviewing skills, domestic violence, nutrition & health and more. In addition, seasonal outreaches such as the THANKSGVING TURKEY DINNER DISTRIBUTIONS, TOY DISTRIBUTIONS during Christmas season, and the BACK TO SCHOOL BACKPACK Giveaway in August continue so we can aleviate the financial burden of families.
CityReach seeks to partner with local or state organization, private sectors, or individuals with similar vision that would want to empower and bring change in this local community. Contact the President, Dennis Penton at dennispenton@pureheartchristian.org or Program Director, Odalys Penton at info@cityreachminstries.com to discuss ways in which we can partner.
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