This past weekend, multiple organizations, small businesses and spiritual groups came together to provide essential and generous winter donations to residents of the city of Trenton. Whether it was warm clothing, fresh food or children’s toys, Trentonians worked together to ensure the city and its people have a comfortable holiday season.

The giving began at 11 a.m. on Saturday. At this time, two separate events were being held to provide new winter clothing for residents of the city. At the Juan Martinez Memorial Park, located on 428 Lambertville Street, hats and gloves were being distributed to those in need. The event was organized and operated by Trenton Partners for Development, The African American Cultural Collaborative of Mercer County, A Better Way NJ and Queen of Sheba #142.

Over at 150 North Clinton Avenue, willing workers of the Jerusalem Baptist Church also supported the community with winter clothing; this time, with coats donated by business owner Amy Inman and friends. During their giveaway, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the church also provided a hot meal consisting of fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, cornbread and collard greens. The meals of the day were sponsored by Greg Grant and the Trenton Central High School basketball teams.

Within the next hour, other organizations were setting up to provide more for the community. By noon, a drive by ‘Toys for Tots’ drop off location at 261 Bellevue Avenue was collecting new toys for the children of Trenton. To extend the giving season further, dinner platters were also served at the drop off.

Just seven minutes away, another cause was busy preparing to not only collect toys, but distribute toys that Saturday at 1 p.m. At La’s Frontera Restaurant, located at 236 South Clinton Avenue, children 12 and under and their families lined up outside to pick out a holiday gift. According to Peterson Breaking News of Trenton, La’s Frontera gave away over 150 toys that day.

Three other local businesses, Trenton Social, The Food Bar and Grill and The Black Ivy League, worked from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. collecting donations for the community well into the night. The organizations collected all sorts of items including toys, socks and coats at both 439 and 449 South Broad Street. In addition to the collection, The Black Ivy League collected monetary in support of the children in the community.

The city of Trenton did not slow down its generosity the following day. On Sunday, the Trenton Fire Department collected bags of groceries for families in need and distributed them at the firehouse on 460 Calhoun Street. The bags were filled with eggs, butter, loaves of bread and a variety of common household essential foods.

Also that day, a non-profit organization called Be Fruitful organized a “Fruit Sack” toy drive. From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at 1774 North Olden Avenue, Be Fruitful collected toys for children of all ages as well as hosted a small event. 25 people (wearing masks) at a time were allowed into the celebration for the opportunity to hear some live music from Xavier J. Powell and take a picture with Santa Claus.

Residents of Trenton have seen the need in the community and have been taking the winter holiday to address it. The city has even started a trend of leaving coats in Unity Square Park up for grabs for those in need. As the holidays quickly approaches, the city of Trenton and its people continues to join forces and collectively provide for the immediate community.

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