It’s been nearly 40 years since the Northeast Ministry was established as part of the Bethlehem Council of Churches. Although nearly four decades have passed, one overarching mission remains – it’s important to help those in need.

It was recently renamed as the Northeast Community Center; Paula Johnson, NECC’s executive director since January 2017, said the organization is there when help is needed.

“There are more than 2,000 people living just in the Marvine-Pembroke community,” Johnson said. “NECC strives to offer programs and services to this community, as well as the surrounding low-income Bethlehem communities.”

Those programs and services include a food pantry, an after-school “Homework Club,” a summer camp, a Connecting Senior program and seasonal or holiday distributions, such as backpacks and school supplies for students, winter coats, Christmas gifts and Thanksgiving meals.

“Many people have personally mentioned that they have been turned away from other social service agencies because they did not make an appointment or show up at the right time,” Johnson said. “However, they always mention that NECC is there for them when they need help.”

NECC strives to be there when their clients need them, not just when it’s convenient for the organization.

“I’ve been told we are one of the most accessible food pantries, since you do not need an appointment,” Johnson said. “We offer a ‘choice’ pantry, where clients can choose foods they like to eat.”

The organization serves, on average, about 220 families per month in the food pantry. Their recently concluded summer camp program attracted 77 children, with an average daily attendance of 54. During the 2018-19 school year, NECC’s After School Homework Club had 62 student enrolled with an average of 40 students attending daily. In addition, NECC’s Connecting Seniors Program averaged about 25 seniors who attended monthly luncheons.

“We serve clients of all types, so it is virtually impossible to provide a generic profile of our clients,” Johnson said. “We serve single moms, families and senior citizens.”

While NECC has established a great legacy, Johnson believes the organization’s future could be just as important.

“My overall vision for the future is to increase the awareness of NECC in the community so that we can serve as many individuals as possible in the Marvine-Pembrook community.

The next major project could well be an expanded food pantry.

“Our food pantry is one of, if not the most, vital and heavily-utilized program we offer,” she said. “The current distribution room and storage area is extremely small and not conducive to having more than one or two people in there at once. Increasing the space would allow for NECC to serve more individuals on a daily basis in a more efficient manner, therefore helping to combat the issue of food insecurity we are experiencing in the Lehigh Valley.”