Members of a church in Clifton are stretching their charitable arms far and wide to help poverty stricken families in the Dominican Republic.

This heartfelt operation is not being orchestrated out of a church or a fancy office – it’s being successfully run from a store right here in Caldwell.

Effie and Mike Kambourakis have been running their own business, Terzako Furs on Bloomfield Avenue, for more than three decades.

Before coming to Caldwell, the couple had other stores in other towns. Yet Caldwell became their favorite spot.

“This is a third generation business,” said Mike Kambourakis. “We have been in business for 93 years. And we love it here in Caldwell.”

Though doing good for others in a quiet way was always their style, because of their involvement with their church, St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Clifton, it took a tropical get away to unearth this couple’s special vocation - to assist those in need.

About 9 years ago, the couple decided to take a vacation to the Dominican Republic, because one of their staff urged them to discover his childhood island.

And though the couple did enjoy the beautiful beaches, food, and culture, they also left the tropical hot spot with a lot more than a suntan – a burning desire to help those in need.

“We just wanted to help,” said Kambourakis. “We are doing this for the kids, not ourselves.”

At first, the couple put together care packages of food and other items and shipped them to the Dominican Republic.

Soon, what started as a part time charitable venture became a 52-week a year effort.

That’s when the Rotary Club of Caldwell stepped in.

“The Rotary Club of Caldwell is involved, and they have helped so much,” Kambourakis said. “Because of them, we can ship 1,000 pounds of materials to these needy people every week. They are a wonderful philanthropic group.”

Materials being sent include stuffed animals and toys, clothing, shoes, school supplies, huge gallons of cooking oil and plenty of food.

And it’s not only residents who supply goods – local businesses have also rolled up their sleeves and decided to donate hundreds of pounds of rice, pasta and flour.

People throughout the Caldwells and nearby areas have become familiar with the family run business- and have been dropping off clothing and other items almost daily at their shop.

And, members of the St. George Greek Orthodox Church have also been supplying plenty of necessities to ship every week.

Church member Olga Parks, dropping off some bags recently, said she is more than happy to help out the good cause.

“This is what we do,” she noted. “We help people in need.”

Along with sending basic supplies, one new item has gotten everyone excited.

“We are sending big magnetic boards,” said Kambourakis. “We give these to the schools, and every school will have them. We’ve sent 10,000 so far.”

When asked what his most important accomplishment might be in this charitable venture, Kambourakis thought for a moment, and smiled.

“One thing is that we brought clean water to the area,” he said. “We built rain collection barrels and then put filters in for them. The Rotary Club of Caldwell again did this for the cause.”

These water retainers hold up to 500 gallons of water, which is critical for the well being of the residents. Currently, widespread disease and even death occurs throughout the world due to the lack of clean water available in many countries.

According to UNICEF, every day, 4,200 children die of water-related diseases, and nearly 900 million people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water.

Along with transforming holes in the ground to finished toilets for the schools, the group is involved with ‘Help the Children Hear’, an organization that supplies hearing aids to children.

Doctors create a mold of each child’s ears and then ship these to the United States – to the Starkey Corporation – who then make individually fitted hear aids for the children.

Since this is an ongoing project, you can drop off gently used or new items. Call the Terzako Furs store at 472 Bloomfield Avenue – 973-226-7303 – before dropping by to leave items.

No matter when you call or visit, there will be packed boxes waiting to be shipped.

After all, this is one ongoing charitable effort that is year round, ever-growing and from the heart.

How could you ask for more?