
Servant-Led Organization
Mercy Center
Mercy Center is a nonprofit organization based in Asbury Park, NJ, with a mission to alleviate generational poverty and empower, enrich, and educate the underserved—especially women and children. Founded in 1986 by a Sister of Mercy who began by delivering food from her car, Mercy Center has grown into a multi-service organization serving tens of thousands each year. Its three core pillars include: the Food Pantry, which now serves nearly 120,000 individuals annually; the Family Resource Center, which provides free, multilingual social services addressing domestic violence, immigration, housing, and more; and Sisters Academy of New Jersey, a tuition-free, faith-based middle school offering academic excellence and opportunity to disadvantaged girls. Serving over 24 towns across Monmouth and five other counties, Mercy Center remains a pillar of hope and transformation in the community, committed to the vision of ending the cycle of generational poverty: one child, one family at a time.