Since 1986, 150 volunteers have prepared and served over half a million meals to guests of the Judeo Christian Outreach Center (JCOC) in Virginia Beach. The JCOC’s mission is to “empower homeless families and individuals to recover from crisis situations and return to being self-supporting, productive, and independent members of our community”. The thought behind this mission is that sometimes a second chance is all people need to get back on their feet.
In addition to serving meals, the JCOC food pantry provides over 9,000 packages of groceries every year to those in need; provides six-month emergency housing for up to 50 individuals at a time; and employ professional case managers to provide substance abuse counseling, education resources/direction, vocational support, employment services, etc. Residents can also develop their computer skills, prepare for the G.E.D test and attend JCOC’s Job Skills Academy.
This year, Kings Grant Baptist Church (KGBC) agreed to resume its partnership w/ JCOC to prepare and serve meals to their residents/guests. Volunteers are needed to prepare casserole dishes a few days prior to the meal serving and/or to serve the meal. So far this year, we have served two dinners to over 200 JCOC guests.