Community Services

  Overview

  Department Staff

  Contact Information

Overview

The Community Service Department of Tabernacle Seventh-day Adventist Church operates through the Albert C. Pierre Community Service Center, a non-profit community-based service agency aimed at helping the Little River, Little Haiti and El Portal communities while supplying the needs of the congregation.

We serve the community at large with our Food Distribution Program, in which we service an estimated 100 households monthly by providing supplemental food to families and individuals who are unemployed, homeless, disabled or living below the federal poverty line. The food distribution occurs every third Sunday of the month from 9:00 am to noon. To qualify, members of the community must meet the eligibility requirements imposed by our partnering agencies: the Florida Food Recovery Bank, Stop Hunger, Inc., and the guidelines established by the USDA.

The Little River/Little Haiti/El Portal communities are in the Central Section of Miami-Dade County, within the northernmost limits of the City of Miami. The population is 51% Black, mostly first-generation Haitian immigrants. Many residents live below the poverty level, face tremendous language barriers, are working low paying jobs and raising first-generation American children who have a hard time reconciling their parents' old-world mentality with their modern socialization.

Although many of these residents work, others are old, sick, unemployed and in dire straits. Those who work spend the majority of their income on housing expenses and do not have enough funds remaining at the end of the month to adequately feed their families. Similarly, those who are unemployed, retired, old, or disabled use public assistance funds on basic survival needs and do not have enough left to sustain them until the end of the month. Seventh percent of the people we serve receive some kind of Public Assistance.

The rest are mostly undocumented immigrants, homeless people or legal residents who are not entitled to receive such assistance. The Albert C. Pierre Community Service Center was established in the Tabernacle SDA Church in 2000 and named after our dearly beloved deceased member, Albert C. Pierre, who was well known and respected throughout the community. Its goal is to serve the needs of this impoverished community and ensure that residents have enough food to carry them to the end of each month.

We have a dedicated group of church volunteers in charge of various portions of the Food Distribution Program, and we are grateful for their commitment. We are always looking for willing volunteers to assist us. If you are interested in community service hours for high school or court requirements, please contact us.

We recently received toys donated by the Miami Beach Fire and Police Departments, to be distributed to the children in our community.

As our funds permit, we purchase additional food from wholesalers in our area to complete and enhance the donations received from the Food Bank. We recently acquired an acclimatized trailer and some freezers to properly store the food until distribution. We count on your generous donations to assist us in continuing this program, as times have become increasingly difficult, and more and more families need our assistance monthly. You can mail your donation to: Albert C. Pierre Community Service Center, c/o Tabernacle SDA Church, 8017 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami, FL, 33138. We will provide you with a tax receipt. We pray that GOD will impress you to give to this cause to support HIS needy children.

We also have a vegetarian food outlet within our church premises where we offer frozen, canned and dry food items, religious books, music and gift items. The convenience of having these staples at the church affords the opportunity to purchase healthy food at comparable prices without having to travel to further locations. Our outlet opens on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday nights and Saturday nights until 9:30 p.m. You can purchase in bulk or retail, or you can place your order and we will retain the items for you.

Staff

Contact Information