Plainfield-Based Organization Helps Liberians in Need with Fundraiser at Mount Olive

PLAINFIELD, NJ — On Saturday, Friends of Yesterday Today and Tomorrow (FOYTOM) held its annual fundraiser outside of Mount Olive Baptist Church in Plainfield.

Its CEO and Founder, Edna Brown, said that FOYTOM started as a support group for fellow Liberian women who fled the country during its brutal civil war during the late 80s and 90s.

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"For the first five years, we supported each other spiritually, morally, and financially. We used to make ourselves feel good," said Brown during Saturday's fundraiser. "After five years, I said to the other members that our people are suffering, and we have been blessed to come here. Let's start to help the people in Liberia. And that's what we started doing."

They first started helping mainly women and children, but have since expanded to aid others in need—including those permanently injured in the civil war. "We're now helping the blind, the disabled, the children, and the women," said Brown.

One way FOYTOM helps is by providing women with large amounts of soap that they can sell in their communities to support themselves. They also ship a lot of donated essentials to Liberia.

Cash donations are really important for the organization, allowing them to buy exactly what people on the ground need. Donations also allow them to ship these donated items to Liberia, as FOYTOM sometimes collects more items than they are able to ship immediately. But Edna Brown stresses that whether it's cash or essential items, everything is appreciated.

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"We need toiletries. We need soap. We need deodorant. We need food. We need clothes. We need shoes. We need underwear. We need everything that you can give us," she emphasized.

Since the intensity of the pandemic subsided, FOYTOM has held its annual fundraiser on the fourth Saturday of August at Mount Olive Baptist Church, located at 216 Liberty Street in Plainfield. Both Edna Brown and her husband George are parisioners at Mount Olive. There are a host of vendors at the event, as well as food like curry chicken, jollof rice, and fried fish sandwiches. Proceeds from the event go to helping those in need in Liberia.

Readers interested in learning more about FOYTOM or making a donation can visit the group's website at FOYTOM.org . FOYTOM is a nonprofit organization, and can provide receipts for tax-deductible donations.

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