The City We Love..Camden, NJ

Today I stumbled across some historical photos of Camden while at work (and bored to tears, I'll add!)  In the 1940's and 50's it was a beautiful city, new, blossoming, thick with hope, wealth and the prosperity that came through local businesses (Campbell Soup, RCA, TastyKake, Bic to name a few).  It's a city with a colorful history.  It's always amazing to me to see pictures from this time period and to realize just how quickly things can change.

Who knew Camden had the world's first drive in theater?  Located at what's known as "Airport Circle" where Rtes 130, 38 & 70 now intersect.

For a city that measures only 10.4 sqaure miles, it's shocking to read the statistics:

~The city was ranked the most dangerous in America this year (2009) due to the high rate of violent crime. 
~Two of every five residents are living below the poverty line.  The median household income is $18,007.00 which is the lowest of all US households in cities with similar population levels.
~Camden spends $17,000 per child for education and only 2/3 of the students graduate.
~Three Camden mayors have been jailed for corruption, the most recent being, Milton Milan in 2000.
~34.6% of residents are under the age of 18 with 45.5% of those children living under the poverty line.
~In the state of NJ, there are approximately 8300 children currently residing in out of home foster care (no stats found on those from Camden only).

Clearly, there is a lot that has changed in this city.  Camden will always be precious to us for the many things it's given us:  our son(s), our foster kids, relationships with amazing children and youth, learning experiences we'd never have received elsewhere and a new world view, which is less skewed by the politics and rules of religion and errs more on the grace and love of Christ.  For those reasons, we'll always love Camden!

Welcome to Camden!!!

Today my husband has called me twice with funny stories about his day in Camden and I thought I'd share them with you!

1. He was driving along this morning in the nasty rain downpour and noticed a man walking under a very large umbrella. Curiosity piqued, he looked more closely as he approached the man and realized....it was a patio umbrella the guy was carrying!! hahahahhahaaaaaa And he thought my huge black and white polka dot golf sized umbrella was over the top!!

2. After picking up his interns and going down to their After School Program site, he walked outside to get in the bus and go get the kids from school (what we call doing "pickups"). He turned the key in the ignition and nothing happened. Hm. Just then, the neighborhood guy who always looks out for Mike and his camp kids came running over and told him "They stole the battery!". People got into the side compartment of the bus and literally took the battery out of the bus and took off! Buck tried to stop them but was too late. So now Michael and his interns are stuck trying to figure out how to go pick up all of these kids who will be waiting for their ride after school. That part isn't funny....but seriously...who even thinks to go steal a battery from a bus?!?!

Oh man...I needed that laugh!

Reminder of Camden Life

Because I work at a Fortune 500 and we live in a pretty safe area of Camden, it's easy for me to forget the daily tragedies of the city, including happenings like this one below. It's a harsh reminder of the reality of our Camden neighbors. I don't yet know if the victoms are known to the Urban staff or not.

From http://www.philly.com/
Posted on Tue, Jan. 8, 2008
Fatal stabbing in Camden
By Sam Wood
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
A 19-year-old woman was stabbed to death early this morning following a domestic dispute in East Camden, authorities said.

Police were called to a house in the 200 block of S. 32nd Street at 4:30 a.m. and found the woman dead at the scene, said Jason Laughlin, spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutor's office.

Police found her boyfriend, also 19, seriously wounded around the corner, sprawled out on the 3300 block of Freemont Street.

Authorities are withholding the name of the woman pending notification of her family, Laughlin said. Police declined to identify the boyfriend until his role in the stabbings can be determined.
Investigators believe the couple, who had been staying with friends in the home, had argued during the night in the basement. The woman staggered up the stairs and collapsed in a doorway where she died, Laughlin said.

The man was being treated this afternoon for multiple knife injuries at a local hospital.
An investigation is continuing.

Opportunities

Tonight Mike and I are taking two of his junior high kids out for dinner. He's told everyone in his camp that he'll treat them to McDonald's, Checker's or Chick-Fil-A for their birthday, and they can bring a friend. It's something we started doing with our kids church in MA and I'm happy to see him continue it here. So because it's a girl's birthday today, I get to tag along! I'm really excited to be able to have some time to get to know a few of his campers!

I wanted to ask you all to be praying for the leadership of UrbanPromise's Children and Youth department. We need unity and communication to abound. Not much more I will say than that, just join with us in prayer if you would.

We also have a family whose three children are sleeping on the floor because they don't own mattresses. If you would like to help us purchase beds for them, please contact me at rebecca201@gmail.com. One of the girls missed school this week due to a headache from not sleeping well.

Thanks for all of your love and support!