Guests spend a night under palm trees in support of the Dream Center
JACKSON, Tenn. — With all this news about frozen pipes and dangerous winter weather covered roads, it was a welcomed change for many guests Saturday night who had the opportunity to lounge under palm trees and sip on something sweet. And how can you go wrong when all of this was in support of a local, good cause?
“And until I came to the Dream Center and they loved me; Ms. Gale has loved me when I was so hard to love and so unlovable, and if it wasn’t for that woman and that place, I would probably be dead right now,” said Amanda Davis, who has been helped by the Dream Center.
Heartfelt stories were shared Saturday night at the eighth annual “A Night in the Caribbean.” Proceeds from the event benefiting the Dream Center.
“We house the women, teach them about Jesus, how to be a good parent, how to be a good cook and take care of their finances; anything that’s going to help them to become successful when they get out,” said Gail Gustafson, Executive Director of the Dream Center.
“I know it’s easy sometimes to look at someone’s life and say, well you know, you made your bed, you can lie in it,” said event attendee Suzette Reeves, “but for the grace of God, that could be any of us.”
The night included dinner, drinks, live music and auctions. Representatives say they are hoping to eventually raise enough money to build a new building that would house around 125 woman and children.
“We need 3.5 million dollars to build that building debt free, and that’s what we want to do. We want to go in debt free,” Gustafson said.
“No one really knows us, what the Dream Center really is, and it’s us women and our children that don’t have nowhere to go and don’t have no one,” Davis said, “and a lot of us just need to be loved and shown love the right way, and that’s through God. I mean, its saved my life. Its saved my life and my kids life.”
Event organizers say they are hoping to raise over $100,000 from the event.
If you would like to learn more about the Dream Center, the services they provide and how you can help, you can visit their website at dreamcenterjackson.com
