Service Projects
Our February project benefited SOLES4SOULS
In February, we put out the call to our community to donate their gently-worn shoes for a project we were doing for SOLES4SOULS. This organization turns unwanted shoes into opportunity, by keeping them from going to waste – providing relief, creating jobs and empowering people to break the cycle of poverty in locations all over the world where this is badly needed.
The Soul Center community donated over 500 pairs of shoes for this cause. Many thanks to Janette Wellman and her capable and hard-working team for all they did to make this project happen on a very inhospitable weather day. What they did was a lot of work! We appreciate them so much.
In January, 2025, we teamed up with Vigilant Hope to help support those in our community experiencing homelessness.
In January, the Soul Center community donated items to support Vigilant Hope in their work with people experiencing homelessness in our community. We collected a table-full of underwear, socks, hand warmers and other personal items plus $105 in cash to help make our fellow community members feel warmer and more comfortable and taken care of. We are grateful for this opportunity to serve.
In 2024, Spiritual Soul Center supported sixteen organizations with our tithes.
These are the organizations Spiritual Soul Center supported with our tithes in 2024: St Jude’s Homeless Lunch Program, A Safe Place, Coastal Carolina Outreach, LGBTQ Center of the Cape Fear Coast, Hope Recovery Day Center, WARM, Weekend Meals on Wheels, Yoga Village, Theatre for All, disAbility Resource Center, Anthony’s Way, Caridad, Inc., Soaring as Eagles, Beloved Asheville, 86 Hunger.
In 2024, the Spiritual Soul Center Community completed 11 Service Projects
Service is a Core Value of Spiritual Soul Center. One of the ways we serve is by partnering with other community organizations who provide help to people who need support. In 2024, these are the organizations we served with our service projects: January – School supplies for Smart Start, February – Shoe donations for Soles4Souls, March – Period support items for YWCA New Choices Program, April – Backpack supplies for Vigilant Hope, May – Food containers for Northside Food Coop, June – Backpack contents for Nourish NC, July – Books for the Cape Fear Literacy Council, September – Cash for Bus Passes, October – Caring Cards for Western North Carolina, November – Food donations to St, Jude’s Thanksgiving Feast, and December – on Wheels Christmas Eve Lasagna Dinner.
In December, we teamed up with Unity to help provide lasagna on Christmas Eve to weekend Meals on Wheels clients.
Our Soul Center folks showed up on Christmas Eve morning with 26 lasagnas to add to those provided by Unity of Wilmington for Meals on Wheels. There were so many we were able to deliver to a few other places: Hospice Life Care Center, Good Shepherd and Masonboro Fire Station. Look at the firemen in the photo – they are happy!!!
In addition to the lasagnas delivered, we had more volunteers than spaces to work. What an incredible offering of time by so many people.
Thanks to all who cooked and all who packed the meals. We are small in numbers but mighty in our generosity…and we are making a big difference in our community.
In November, we teamed up with St. Jude Community Church to help provide a holiday meal for those who might not otherwise have something special on Thanksgiving.
In November, Soul Center teamed up with St. Jude’s Food Pantry to help provide a Thanksgiving meal for our brothers and sisters in Wilmington who might not otherwise have a feast to share. And the key element in our shopping was FRESH because rarely do food pantries provide fresh food (produce, meat, dairy/oils) because it isn’t shelf stable and feasible to store.
We’ve participated in this project for at least five years, and now folks who come to St. Jude’s pantry ask if we’ll be coming with our fresh stuff at Thanksgiving. This project brings us great joy. We are grateful.
In October, we wrote cards for the helpers in Western North Carolina.
In October, we held a Card Party at Soul Center on our traditional Soup Sunday. It was a great success!! Folks wrote messages in 124 cards. We’ll be sending them to friends who live in Asheville and Black Mountain to hand out to workers helping in the recovery effort from Hurricane Helene that created devastating damage to those communities.
In September, we collected money to buy bus passes.
Riding the bus is a gift for those in Wilmington who are experiencing homelessness. What a relief it is to be able to get to a hot breakfast at St Jude’s or the Day Center downtown or to a doctor or therapist appointment. This month we helped make that happen. The Soul Center Community donated an unbelievable $620 for to purchase bus passes for this important population. Huge thanks to all who participated!!