Engage in Community Outreach at Presbyterian Church

(Hillside, NJ)

The Community Food Bank of New Jersey facilitates a regional distribution network of critical food supplies to emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and feeding programs in more than half the counties of New Jersey.

Volunteers ages 12 and up help on a monthly basis to assemble food boxes senior citizens, sort donated items, and repackage bulk food for distribution to local warehouses. We never really know what’s in store until we arrive!

Nourish.NJ creates lasting solutions to the problems of hunger, homelessness and poverty. We offer food, housing, work readiness, medical, social and educational services 365 days a year in a warm, safe and caring environment, free of charge, no questions asked.

Volunteers from our church provide monthly donations of 100+ Breakfast Bags, each containing a non-perishable meal, which go to anyone who needs one, no questions asked.

Family Promise of Morris County in partnership with dozens of churches and synagogues throughout Morris County, provides a rotating shelter for families experiencing a temporary loss of housing. It is one of the few organizations that houses families together as an intact unit.

PCCT serves as a host site four weeks per year, and a team of our volunteers makes each week run smoothly. Volunteers are needed to host guests at PCCT, cook dinner, stay overnight, provide groceries, and do laundry. Sign up to volunteer.

Bridges ends homelessness through volunteer-driven outreach and individual case management focusing on health, housing, and independence. We form relationships with those experiencing homelessness while meeting their most urgent needs.

Our congregation sponsors three “runs” each year, assisting Bridges staff as they provide necessities and hope to people in New York City, Newark and Irvington. We contribute sack suppers, packed by volunteers of all ages. Runs are open to high school students, with a few spots reserved for adult chaperones.

The mission of the Interfaith Food Pantry Network is to improve the health and well-being of Morris County residents in need by providing access to food, nutrition education and related resources; provide hands-on opportunities for neighbors to help neighbors, and educate the public about the issues of hunger in our area.

On an ongoing basis, PCCT members donate healthy canned goods and other non-perishable items by placing them in a bin in the upper lobby. The Harvest Festival also supports this food pantry.

The mission of America’s Grow-A-Row is to positively impact as many lives as possible through a volunteer effort of planting, picking, rescuing, and delivering free fresh produce to those in need.

We host seasonal family days to help harvest produce and have individuals who volunteer as drivers for fresh farm markets.

Harvest Festival

Since 1991, the Harvest Festival has been a way for us to express our thankfulness through gifts of food and time.

On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, we bring an offering of non-perishable food items to worship and stay after the service to help sort cans and boxes.

Food is then delivered to the Interfaith Food Pantry Network in Morris Plains.

Each October PCCT invites the community to help fight hunger and need by buying pumpkins and colorful gourds arranged on our front lawn.

This 100% volunteer effort is a much-anticipated highlight of the fall season. All proceeds go to these worthy organizations:

Sign up to Volunteer at our Pumpkin Patch HERE

The Navajo Nation in New Mexico grows and delivers the pumpkins working through the non-profit organization Pumpkin Patch Fundraisers.

PCCT has been certified as an Earth Care Congregation by the Environmental Ministries of Presbyterian Church (USA) since 2011.

A church earns this distinction by tracking its commitments to earth care in the areas of worship, education, facilities, and outreach.

Disaster Response

PCCT has had a long history of providing assistance in times of crisis.

To learn more about our disaster response efforts, please click below

Helping Hands distributes essential items through our growing network of individuals and partner organizations throughout New Jersey.

Our partnership began with a request to provide temporary space for donated items until needed by a client family. We now provide additional support through donation drives and the PCCT Community Garden.

Refugee Assistance Morris Partners (RAMP) seeks to assist vetted Middle Eastern and other refugee families to transition to productive lives of dignity, safety and hope in the Morris County area of New Jersey.

Members of our congregation provide furniture and other items as well as volunteer support for refugee families during their initial resettlement period. Examples include transportation, ESL and tutoring.

First planted in the spring of 2022 with a total of ten raised beds, the PCCT Community Garden is an effort to combat food scarcity in our local community. Members tend the garden and harvest produce that is distributed by Helping Hands in partnership with Chatham United Methodist Church. Hosted on land adjacent to a member’s home, this 45’ x 90’ space has room to grow in more ways than one! Additional volunteers are being sought to build our volunteer base.

Youth Mission Trips invite high school youth to step out of their comfort zones and regular routines in order to provide assistance to local homeowners where repairs are needed due to natural disaster, a lack of resources, or personal disability.

A typical trip will see 18-25 teenagers along with a team of adult leaders traveling out of state to stay at a host church. In recent years, we have been to Ohio, Florida and North Carolina.

For more information on this year’s trip, please click on the link below

The Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris promotes mental health and total wellness for individuals facing challenges associated with mental illness and addiction recovery.

We coordinate occasional drives for items such as bedding and toiletries for MHA clients.

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