Central: A Christ-Centered Church together with Living Hope Church hosted a Free Market on June 6, 2015 benefitting 140 families in the area.
Visitors to the Free Market had the opportunity to shop through donated goods and enjoy free food and entertainment.
Central: A Christ-Centered Church together with Living Hope Church hosted a Free Market event that benefitted 140 families in the area. The event was held on Living Hope Church’s property at 401 Farrugut Avenue in Trenton on June 6, 2015.
The Free Market was similar to a traditional flea market, but all items were in new or excellent used condition and they were all free of charge. The Free Market was one of the church’s responses to the increasing economic need facing residents of Trenton, Ewing and their surrounding communities.
Central worked with several social service agencies in Mercer County, such as Catholic Charities, HomeFront, Doorway to Hope, Promise of Grace Ministries, the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen and Greater Trenton Behavioral Healthcare, to identify those families in extreme financial need. Living Hope partnered with local schools to invite additional families from their community in Trenton.
Thousands of household items valued at over $15,000 were donated by the church’s members, ranging from a dining room set, to brand new electronics, to children’s bikes and toys. Over 100 volunteers from the church gave approximately 1,000 hours to sort donations, set up the grounds, staff shopping tables and prepare food for the event.
After shopping, families were invited to enjoy food and activities including an inflatable slide, bouncy house, face painting, balloon animals, cotton candy, hotdogs and popcorn all free of charge.
