I’ve been very, very stressed

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Current volunteers for the Kalamazoo Dream Center said the organization has been a safety net for people in crisis for more than 20 years, but now, the nonprofit is in crisis.

Helping over 1,000 individuals each month, with clothing, personal hygiene products, shelf-stable and fresh foods, household essentials, and pet supplies, the center’s director, Bonnie Hudson, told News Channel 3 that they rely on donations, both physical and monetary, to survive. However, she said that financial support has recently begun to dwindle.

“I’ve been very, very stressed out, to where I’ve got to beg God to turn my brain off and let me go to sleep,” Hudson said. “I don’t want to lose my faith. I don’t want to lose this. To not be able to help all the people we help.”

The organization is facing a shortfall of about $25,000 this year, according to the board president, Ginny Dell.

“Our expenses exceed what we take in at this point,” Dell said. “That probably changed sometime last year, where those donations that we could sort of count on from year to year went away.”

Dell said the financial gap widened as longtime donors have passed away, gone out of business, or shifted their charitable giving.

“Some of the help that we’ve gotten from churches has really diminished a lot,” Hudson said. “Again, there’s so many people that are in need, and so there’s only so much money to spread around.”

The center costs about $77,000 a year to operate, according to Dell, including insurance, utilities, supplies, and a monthly rent of about $2,050.

“We will probably be late on our rent, and we’ve never been late in all these years,” Dell said. “That’s just the reality of it.”

On top of the board of directors, there are two volunteers who work in the center. Dell said that no one receives a paycheck, including the director. All donated items are given away to the community at no charge, according to Dell, except for select “big-ticket” donations that are agreed upon in advance to serve as “fundraisers,” with proceeds going directly back into the non-profit’s operating costs.

“We have a savings account, a money market, and a checking account,” Dell said. “We have a treasurer that monitors all of that. And he does that 100% free.”

Through matching gifts from board members, the Dream Center currently has enough funds to stay open at least two more months, according to Dell. “We’re talking about August and September,” Dell told News Channel 3.

“This center is the lifeblood of this neighborhood,” said Dell, as she shared stories about the impact the center has, including helping a family with a disabled son with clothes and toys for Christmas and furnishing an apartment for a woman who was formerly unhoused. “Those are the kinds of things we do and that’s why we have to stay open.”

The mission was founded in 1993 by a husband and wife who said they wanted to make a difference in their community, the Edison Neighborhood of Kalamazoo, according to present-day volunteers, the couple reportedly called it an “Adopt-A-Block” outreach, in which they would knock on neighbors’ doors and simply ask what they needed help with. The organization moved into its current home on Portage Street in 2002, officially becoming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2007.

The center partners with Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries to offer free hot showers and laundry services every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Dream Center sees around 50 people on an average day, according to Hudson. Many are looking for clothing and personal items. Men’s clothing and shoes, in particular, she said are in high demand.

“Men, by nature, they wear something until they wear it out,” Dell said. “Items for men [are] vitally important because they’re not getting it from anyplace else either. Personal hygiene items are huge. Diapers for babies. Clothing for children is a huge, huge need.”

Donations of clothing and household items are always welcome, but Hudson stressed that financial contributions are what’s needed most right now to pay rent and utility bills, to remain open.

A website offering a source for recurring, secure donations is on its way, Dell said. For now, community members can help by donating through the Kalamazoo Dream Center’s PayPal at @Kzoodreamcenter, or by sending checks or money orders directly to the center.

For workplaces that offer charitable grants, the Kalamazoo Dream Center has asked to be considered as a recipient nominee.

“We need regular donors,” Dell said. “We don’t want this to close.”