A Warm Christmas at Dottie's House

The unseasonably warm temperatures the Jersey Shore has experienced this week won't stick around forever. And when Jack Frost eventually starts nipping at our region in earnest, some who would otherwise be out in the cold will be warm thanks to the community's support for a local organization that helps women and children escape domestic abuse.

Earlier this week, Dottie's House, a transitional housing facility for women and children who have fled situations of domestic abuse, asked the community for coats and warm winter clothes for the children who live at facility, the location of which is kept confidential. After the , the organization received a sizable response from the community, said Pamela Monticelli, the director of Dottie's House. Additional help came in the form of a $1,000 donation by the New Beginnings Christian Church, based in Brick.

The money from New Beginnings will pay for gift cards to be used food and clothing for the women and children of Dottie's House, said Monticelli. Those from the community also went above and beyond the call for clothes, Monticelli said, donating toys for the children for Christmas.

"We got a lot of toys from the community," Monticelli said Friday. "We were really blessed this year, so we were able to give a lot of toys to the kids. They had Santa Claus come out last night."

There's a continuing need for clothing at Dottie's House, said Monteicelli. In many cases, she said, women and children come to the shelter with only the clothes on their backs, and must rely on donations to make due while they are in transition. In one recent case, she said, a woman who had come to the shelter only had flip-flops with her, despite the season. But thanks to the recent donations, needs are beginning to be met.

Linda Rosa, of New Beginnings, said Pastor Joseph Sorce read the article asking for winter clothes on Brick Patch and immediately wanted to make a donation. The church, which also runs a food pantry, thrift shop and teen center on Brick Boulevard, specializes in community outreach.

"We like to do outreach," said Rosa. "Our pastor is very big about getting out in the community like that."

And in a community like Brick, the response often comes in a very big way.

"The community has come out tremendously," Monticelli said. "It's really been a very blessed Christmas for the women and children."