TAYN - Ep. 30 Jim Barnhardt

Episode 30 of "These are Your Neighbors" features Jim Barnhardt. Jim is the founder of The Dream Center which offers a variety of programs to those in need in our community.  By providing services that many take for granted, The Dream Center provides Help for Today. Hope for Tomorrow.Jim is married to Cindy and has 2 grown daughters and a grandson. Jim is a lifelong resident of the Bismarck/Mandan area. He has worked in retail business his entire adult life. Jim considers himself fortunate to have traveled extensively over the years, and firmly believes Bismarck/Mandan is the best place to live. Jim’s story of creating a Dream Center in the city of Bismarck started in 2016, when he woke with a vision for a meal ministry and services to help those in need firmly planted in his mind. After many meetings with community leaders, Jim and Cindy chose to partner with The Banquet in his quest to serve the people of our community. Jim got involved first as a Banquet Board Member  and then served as Banquet Board Chairman. In 2019,  Cindy and Jim made a trip to the Dream Center in Los Angeles to confirm Jim’s Dream Center application sent several months earlier. By May, Dream Center Bismarck was officially sanctioned. Fast forward to today, Dream Center Bismarck is a non-profit organization whose primary mission is to “Find a Need & Fill It”. In 2019, the Dream Center Adopt-a-Block program was started in Bismarck and currently serves up to 1,000  households each week. In May of 2021, Jim and Cindy made the commitment to build the new 24,300 square foot Dream Center Bismarck facility  with construction completed in April of 2022. Today, The Dream Center Bismarck has gone far beyond Jim’s expectations. Tens of thousands of hours of meaningful volunteer opportunities are provided for the community and community needs are being met on a much larger scale than Jim ever anticipated. Jim believes no one should be food insecure, and the low-income people of our community deserve a chance to improve their life. Jim is semi-retired from his retail business and plans to spend the next several years leading Dream Center Bismarck in filling unmet community needs.