Description
Headquartered in Sewell, New Jersey, Loving Our Cities (LOC) is a 501c3 community development corporation (CDC) serving as the community engagement arm of The Perfecting Church. From its inception, Loving Our Cities has sought to impact societal change by addressing systemic barriers compromising the quality of life in distressed communities where we live, work, serve and worship-locally in the greater Philadelphia region, primarily in the counties of Philadelphia, Camden, Burlington, Gloucester and Salem. Critical to this effort is dismantling institutional and systemic impediments such as racial, ethnic and income disparities specifically compromising the quality of life in historically marginalized communities struggling to equitably access nutrient-rich food, healthcare, housing, education and economic opportunities.
In response, since its founding 2015, LOC has grown to offer a range of referral services as well as a variety of direct programs including the operation of five food pantries in Camden and Gloucester Counties; a warehouse in Gloucester County serving as a HUB for the Food Bank of South Jersey and neighboring pantries; marriage, family and financial counseling; support groups for those recovering from trauma or struggling with mental illness; mentoring and job readiness training such as Millennial Labs, a workforce development initiative.
