The fifth annual Good Counsel Home Walk-a-Thon took place in four South Jersey locations on Saturday, May 21, with walkers and their sponsors raising more than $45,000 for its Riverside residence that serves homeless pregnant women and their children.
Approximately 170 individuals walked around Memorial Park, Cinnaminson; Medford Park, Medford; Washington Lake Park, Washington Township; and Wildwood Boardwalk, Wildwood.
The Good Counsel-South Jersey Home, which opened its doors to mothers and their children in April, is in the convent of the former St. Casimir Parish, which is now a part of Resurrection Parish in Riverside.
Staffed around the clock by four resident assistants and a case manager, the house provides a safe haven for homeless pregnant women and their children. A life skills program includes lessons in parenting, nutrition and computer skills, and the mothers receive ongoing counseling and spiritual guidance, and vocational and educational training.
The home is the only one of its kind in New Jersey, joining four other homes in New York under Good Counsel Homes, which began in 1985 as a not-for-profit organization by Father Benedict Groeschel, CFR and Christopher Bell.
An annual fundraiser dinner takes place in the fall.
The Riverside home “focuses on getting moms on their feet, and helping them to raise their children in a stable environment,” said Brenda Quinn, an executive member of the Good Counsel-South Jersey leadership team.
A grand opening of the Good Counsel-South Jersey home, with Father Groeschel, is in the planning stages for later this month.
Noting the emphasis on helping mothers get an education, Quinn sees the example the mothers can have on their children, and their children’s children, in regard to classroom study and achieving degrees.
“We are helping generations, for every mother that is helped,” she said.
For more information on Good Counsel Home, or make a secure donation, visit www.goodcounselhomes.org
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