BUSINESS BUZZ
SHELTER FROM THE STORM By Sean McCarthy
GRACE HARBOR CHURCH KNOWS WELL WHAT IT MEANS TO NEED HELP, AND NOW THEY’RE PROVIDING IT.
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nly a few years ago the church was an abandoned shell, neglected and condemned. And when it reopened its doors on June 7 of this year, those who brought it back to life were only beginning to contribute to the community. Located in New Bedford’s west end on the corner of Kempton Street and County Street, the church has used its modest resources to create a program known as the New Bedford Community Aid Network (NBCAN), a philanthropic organization that provides links to services and assistance for those in crisis throughout the region, asking nothing in return. Today the east wall of the church boasts a broad banner with the words “We are here. We care.” “Without any reputation in the community we were thinking about how we can bless and serve people in the neighborhood though they may not be coming to us as a church,” says Morgan Proudfoot, Pastor of Grace Harbor. “We want to serve people, but we don’t have a lot of resources or grants like some organizations do. We can be an advocate and a friend and help pair people with resources in the area. “We’re helping people find the right
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services that the city provides. New Bedford has a lot of great wonderful social services but people can have a hard time locating them or they don’t have confidence in themselves to make the necessary phone call.”
October 2020 | The South Coast Insider
A visit to the NBCAN website (nbmacan. com) provides an extensive sample of many of the opportunities available to those in need, as well as an opportunity for interested persons to contribute their time and energies, regardless of
