AllyShip aka Sailors & Seniors for the Homeless

Sailors & Seniors were launched in 2020 at the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic. The ideas of Michele Smith Wiemer and Barry Richards, driving through the streets of Jersey City and witnessing the support system for our in need and homeless neighbors, were non-existent. We both decided to take it upon ourselves to prepare personally, plate and distribute meals and water to anyone we came across in need on Sunday mornings. Leveraging the positive aspects of social media platforms, we sparked a huge interest from our peers to aid in our vision. Since we were both members of a local sailing and boating community, this became our initial support system. This community began to donate food, assist in food preparation and supply much needed toiletries. Quickly, word spread and an outpouring of support came from friends and family. Michele's Mother began to sew masks for us and her Oregon senior community joined in the effort, producing over 1500 masks. Many other seniors provided donations of material and food to support the effort. We launched our initial GOFUNDME in 2020 as others from across the country and world wished to support us. We raised over $15,000.This allowed us to purchase a van to expand our outreach potential and to deliver donated items to warming centers and shelters across Hudson County, serving and delivering over 10,000 meals and beverages. Last year one of our frequent donators mentioned that they were relocating due to Covid-19 and family illness and reached out to us to see if we would consider taking over her family's non-profit organization, URBAN HOPE NJ. We graciously accepted and we are now embarking on a new journey to further our initial vision and to expand our outreach to other areas and join forces with other like organizations. This is why we have created ALLYSHIP, a mission to connect with smaller organizations across the country to expand outreach to our in-need neighbors.