280 Living
• A14 December 2013 December 2013 | Volume 7 | Issue
280Living.com
neighborly news & entertainment
Christmas cheer
A home for the holidays 280 volunteers help put a roof over a family in need
The annual Chelsea Christmas Parade will again include a Christmas Village. Join local students, businesses, organizations and others for this year’s holiday event.
Community page B7
Running wild
Della Pender, left, and her sister Gwen Valenti at God’s Outreach Center in Harpersville, where they volunteer on Wednesdays. Both Pender and Valenti worked for eight months to rebuild a mobile home for a homeless family in the 280 area. Photo by Jeff Thompson.
By JEFF THOMPSON There goes the neighborhood — literally. The annual Meadow Brook Runs takes place this month, and during the event many of the neighborhood’s residents will be sprinting through the streets.
Community page B8
INSIDE Sponsors ...... A4 280 News ..... A6 Business ....... A8 Food .............. A11 Faith .............. A22
Opinion ............. A23 Community ...... B5 Sports ............... B12 School House ... B13 Calendar ........... B20
Della Pender answered the phone. On the other end of the line, she found a man with an offer. “I’ve got a mobile home to sell,” he told her. “For cheap.” With Christmas less than a week away, Pender weighed her options. She wasn’t in the business
of buying used — or in this case, abused — housing, but something about this deal struck her as the right decision. So, with a $3,000 transaction, she became its proud owner. And in doing so she kicked off a miracle. Pender is sales manager for the Town of Mt Laurel, but on the side she deals in positive change
on the U.S. 280 corridor. Her nonprofit organization, God’s Outreach Center, in Harpersville has impacted thousands of lives in the area. Last Christmas, it was a couple in need who crossed paths with Pender and saw their lives changed for the better. She said it rarely falls together so perfectly, but just days after
Pender purchased the mobile home, she received a call from a local church. This time, the call came with a request rather than a proposition. The church informed Pender of Vincent residents Rhonda and William Breckenfield, a family that
See OUTREACH | page A19
Christmas season comes to 280
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Looking for Santa? Catch him atop a fire engine somewhere in your neighborhood this month. Pages B1 and B3.
Don’t feel like searching for the ideal gift this Christmas? Our editors assembled a holiday gift guide to help. Pages A14-A18.
In the mood for holiday entertainment? Find out who of your neighbors will be on stage in local productions. Pages B5 and B10.