The Dream Center is a faith-based charitable organization that has, since 1995, aimed to fill the needs of struggling people all across the United States. Thousands of individuals and families have been able to find hope and healing through the programs offered by the Dream Center, where the main goal is to be able to satisfy a community’s immediate needs, such as food and clothing, while at the same time fully transforming their lives on the long term, all free of charge. This way, the center can connect broken people to a community of support through free resources and services that address the short and long-term needs stemming from poverty, addiction, or abuse. By serving as a resource center for those in need through residential and community outreach programs, the Dream Center can find solutions to homelessness, hunger, and lack of education.
Brian Suder has consistently been key as a volunteer entrepreneur in corporate fundraising and in the following programs at the Dream Center in Los Angeles.
It is estimated that around 16% of the Los Angeles County population is food insecure, meaning that a large number of families don’t know when they will be having their next meal. The way the Dream Center aims to help with this alarming statistic is by distributing over half a million pounds of food every month to more than 34 distribution sites, as well as a food bank located at the center itself. Over the course of the year, more than 500,000 bags of groceries are distributed, which means that on average these programs feed more than 40,000 people on a monthly basis.
Established in the year 2000, Adopt-a-Block has adopted more than 135 blocks, impacting well over thirty thousand lives in the process.
Through such a program, the Dream Center partners with a group of volunteers in order to visit sixteen under-resourced neighborhoods around Los Angeles on a weekly basis. As many as five hundred volunteers distribute food, personal hygiene items, and other essential products. Other practical services are made available to the communities in question as a means to provide them with regular emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual support.
The clothing outreach program of the Dream Center gives out free clothing to the public at their campus location every first Thursday of each month, from 8 am to 4 pm. They accept donation drop-offs 24/7 (without receipt) and Tuesday to Friday, from 8 am to 3 pm (with a receipt). Through this clothing outreach initiative, in which every donation (both new and used) is repurposed, over thirty thousand people have received free clothing items.
An estimated 1.5 million adults in Los Angeles County over the age of 25 don’t have a high school diploma or an equivalent certificate. Through the Dream Center Adult Education Program, the organization helps adult students obtain their high school equivalency by providing them with a supportive and encouraging learning environment under a team of qualified and attentive tutors. This allows adults to pursue their educational goals while also equipping them with the necessary tools for them to achieve greater financial potential. This is done through academic classes, one-on-one tutoring, and free testing.
As part of this initiative, Brian Suder teaches an advanced program and works with a group of reformed gang members to advise them on how to start their own businesses.
As part of the Center’s Short Term Mission Program, Brian Suder works as a liaison between over 300 different missions worldwide and the Dream Center. This allows the Center to provide individuals, churches, ministries, and other volunteer groups and organizations with the opportunity to experience the outreach programs available at the center. This includes the Adopt-a-Block, food truck, foster care intervention, and Kdz Jam programs. Volunteers will have the option to stay on the Dream Center campus while gaining all sorts of hands-on experience by teaming up with staff and directly impacting people in need throughout America.
Brian Suder is also a volunteer for CityFam in Baltimore, Maryland, where he works in accounting and fundraising at their corporate offices. Additionally, he also collaborates with Baltimore city officials to improve urban conditions, to revitalize communities, and to assist the homeless population.
CityFam implements its own version of the Adopt-a-Block program, which has been key in reviving struggling communities across Baltimore. Mr. Suder also works in several missions and coordinates a variety of charitable efforts in the Baltimore area.
What makes CityFam such a special venture is that it is a movement made up of like-minded individuals seeking to do life together. The volunteers and staffers create opportunities for all members to get together and have fun freely. They also raise money for different charities around the city and coordinate volunteer efforts so that the members can give back to the community and make a real difference.