At South Street Ministries, we are committed to empowering authentic community voices, leadership, and transformation. These values are not just words for us, they are the foundation of the spaces we cultivate and the work we pursue each day. As you read through this month’s newsletter, we invite you to catch up from the staff and hear about just a few ways Christ is moving around us!
801 Grant Street is a place that welcomes growth, inspiration, and wellness. We welcome justice-involved women in Akron who need additional support as they come home. Restoration House wants to restore the dignity of women who have made a past choice that did not land them in a favorable outcome. The drop-in center has been supporting women on Mondays and Thursdays from 9 AM to 4 PM by offering a meal, providing some tangibles, and a caring presence. The backyard communal space will be opening soon, offering a space where women can tell their story and feel supported by women who can identify with them. The space will be able to offer cooking classes, bible studies, and other group activities to support the wholeness and wellness of women.
One of the truly special joys of the work that goes on at South Street is seeing people transformed and empowered to give back from their own experience. Glenda Keys-Stevens models a heart to serve and a life in transformation. One of the ways she felt compelled to give back to others was through a Mother’s Day event for those who have lost loved ones.
“I want to share about Mother’s Day 2026. The purpose was for me to be able to celebrate with other women dealing with similar loss as I was. A prior year, on Mother’s Day of 2025, my son was murdered.
I believe God laid on my heart not to let women or anybody, for that matter, be alone on Mother’s Day. The Mother’s Day picnic was meant to draw those together who were suffering from the loss of a child, a mother, a sister, or a brother. It didn’t really matter, only that they were suffering like me. And that I wanted God to be glorified at the event. Although it was a tragedy for my family and me, and it will always try to be a tragedy, I hoped we would be able to walk through this time with one another and be able to comfort each other through fellowship.
The theme of Mother’s Day was the love of a mother. And for me, that was saying that although I lost my son, I was grateful. Although my son was taken from me, I wanted to say that it doesn’t have to be a tragedy, that God can be honored in and through it.”
Summer at Bike Shop has begun! In May, combining both Summit Lake and North Hill, 80 bikes have been earned, 18 repairs have been completed, and volunteers have put in 71.5 hours of service. However, it is more than just the numbers.
At The Bike Shop, we are building a community of unlikely partners who are willing to sacrifice for others’ sake. We are stepping toward a need and empowering those in need to step toward a true transformational change. We are loving our neighbors and allowing them to love us in return.
As one of South Street’s longest programs, Bike Shop is deeply rooted in legacy, heritage, and tradition. Rapidly expanding beyond just bikes, growing and reaching far beyond S. Akron & Summit Lake. Distributing 100’s of bikes per season and completing just as many repairs and covering just as many miles on two wheels.
If done right, each interaction creates a small ripple of transformational change – nothing profound, just a whole lotta love.
The last two months of SPARKS were all about dance!
On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, our amazing staff would get our kids from school, fueled up at the church, and headed to ballet and hip-hop classes. As Kenzie transitioned away from South Street as Youth Director, we had a dedicated group of volunteers step up and step out, along with our passionate staff (Chloe and Kahli) and a former JOG worker (Massagy). All of this culminated in the big day, May 29th.
The Dance Exchange is a vision come true for MyAhna Hall, a former South Street volunteer and contractor. She wanted kids from the community to experience professional, supportive, and affirmative dance. After months of practice, youth from Vincent House and South Street Ministries came together to perform an amazing show of ballet, hip-hop, and more. The youth from Sparks radiated joy as their parents cheered them on in the final performance.
Ministry is holistic – caring for mind, body, soul – considering home life, community, school, and more. The Dance Recital was a beautiful culmination to a challenging semester of ministry, growth, transition, and refinement for the youth and the South Street team.
And God is good through it all!
Your prayerful support of South Street Ministries makes caring, compassionate, and grace-filled work possible.
It is your generous giving that keeps us walking alongside children, families, and neighbors who need hope. Together, we’re making an impact alongside you to renew our community for the sake of Jesus Christ.
Thank you, and God bless you!