About Us

The WOW Center is a New Jersey- based 501c3 nonprofit organization with a mission of empowering real women with real stories to thrive, dream, believe, and pursue the impossible through love and community. The WOW Center is a community of women who stand alongside each other imperfect, restored, and redeemed. Through the sharing of personal testimony and faith in action, WOW empowers women to fully embrace and believe, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13 NKJV)

As a 501c3 nonprofit organization, The WOW Center relies solely on the generosity of our community to advance our mission and vision.

EIN: 86-2972189

People often ask, “Why is it called WOW?”

“WOW!” is the reaction almost always expressed when listening to the amazing life changing testimonies of so many incredible women we are privileged to come alongside. With a mission of empowering women, The WOW Center’s natural target population is women, but we also know and truly believe that if you empower a woman you will impact her family and broader community as well. Daily, we join hands to pray, support, empower, love and encourage one another in the valley or on the mountain top. We do life together through love and community!

Our Impact in Numbers

NJLEAD Participants receieved reentry services in 2023

Financial Empowerment Graduates

People served via our Food Pantry in 2023

View our 2023 Annual Report here.

Meet Our Founders

Melissa (Mel) Padin

Co-Founder, Executive Director
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Mel is Co-Founder and Executive Director of The WOW Center and has been empowering women through a variety of programs and services for years. Mel is the visionary behind The WOW Center, which was incorporated as a nonprofit to scale the impactful work she had been doing through her church and in her former capacity as Constituent Services Director for New Jersey State Senator James Beach of the 6th Legislative District of NJ.

Dancing since the tender age of five, Melissa has traveled the world dancing, teaching and performing on stages such as the world-famous Copa Cabana in New York City and across the globe in Japan, Europe, and Latin America. Latin dance became Mel's passion; music was her refuge and the stage became her saving grace. In 2007, the grand opening of her dance studio located in Brooklyn, NY aired all across the world on MTV TR3S and received a Gracie Award from The Foundation for American Women in Radio and Television for Outstanding Commercial Campaign. A lifelong dream shortly lived. After closing the doors to her dance studio, Mel and her husband became the parents of a beautiful baby boy. Although still dancing, teaching and performing locally, her primary focus became her family. In 2013, Mel hung up her dancing shoes, retired from dance and gave her life to the Lord. Mel no longer dances for the world, rather, her praise and worship is for Jesus. Mel is a wife, mother of 3 sons and lover of all things vintage, health & fitness.

This work led to Mel being recognized by the Camden County Board of Freeholders as the recipient of the 2019 Prominent Hispanic Award in commemoration of National Hispanic Heritage Month and Mel’s outstanding and invaluable service to the community. Mel has done many public speaking engagements to empower women through her powerful testimony and regularly teaches group exercise classes through The WOW Center. Mel completed Revelation Wellness’s Nationally Accredited Fitness Instructor training to become a certified group exercise instructor.

Noelle St.Clair Lentz

Co-Founder, Board Chair
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Noelle has spent her career mobilizing capital to support positive community impact. Noelle has published numerous articles and white papers and regularly speaks at community development events throughout the country. In addition to her role as Co-Founder and Board Chair of The WOW Center, Noelle is Founder and CEO of Allivate Impact Capital, an impact investing firm with over $60 Million in assets under management and a mission of using innovative capital solutions to elevate communities, alleviate poverty, and activate entrepreneurial ecosystems. Noelle also serves as Senior Vice President, Impact Investing Director at Woodforest National Bank. In this role, Noelle leads the Bank’s impact investing by identifying and executing innovative, high impact investments across asset classes. She has an MBA in Finance from the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University and BAs in Economics and Philosophy from the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State University. Noelle was one of five women under the age of 35 recognized as a “Women of Distinction Rising Star” by the Philadelphia Business Journal in 2022 for her industry leadership and commitment to the community. She was also honored as one of Drexel University’s 40 Under 40 in 2023.

Noelle is a mother to her two amazing sons, Brody and Owen, and wife to her best friend, Rob. She is a fitness enthusiast who enjoys teaching bootcamp, group exercise, and pre/post-natal classes at WOW. When Noelle met Mel through a life group at Kingsway Church, she knew God was calling her to go deeper in women’s ministry. She is dedicated to the WOW mission of empowering women to thrive, whether through teaching financial empowerment classes to survivors of domestic violence or motivating others with her powerful testimony of God’s faithfulness through life’s most challenging battles. Life verse: Romans 5:1-5