Support the South Street Christmas Store this #GivingTuesday
#GivingTuesday is coming! This global day for giving back is Tuesday, December 1!
- Board games, card games, puzzles, Legos, books, art sets, and the like …
- Toys like action figures, Hot Wheels, remote control cars, dolls, and kitchen sets…
- Basketballs, footballs, skateboards, Nerf balls, soccer balls, and anything Cavs- or Browns-related …
- Supplies for infants and toddlers like diapers, wipes, board books, and educational toys …
- Gifts for pre-teens and teenagers like nail polish, scented lotions, hair accessories, earbuds, headphones, book bags, art supplies, journals, and jewelry …
- Gifts for parents or grandparents like small household items, Christmas decorations, wallets, candles, calendars, knick-knacks, picture frames, and more…
- Or general winter necessities like socks, slippers, gloves, mittens, hats, scarves, and such — of all sizes!
Thankful for Many Years of Friendship
As we near Thanksgiving, South Street wants to highlight someone for whom we are eternally grateful.
Tom Fuller is a faithful supporter, a past Board Member, and serves as Executive Director of Alpha Homes — a proud and consistent sponsor of Trails N Rails!
When we asked about his thoughts on South Street, he blessed us with his insight … and now it’s your turn to be blessed with his words.
I had been talking about Duane and Lisa Crabbs for several years but had never met them. I was told that Duane was an Akron Firefighter who moved into the Summit Lake neighborhood and had left the Fire Department to serve the neighborhood full-time.
Duane and Lisa were organizing programs for the kids in the area, and some of our children from Channelwood Village were involved. I began to repeat what I had heard about the remarkable work being done from a house just south of the expressway. One day it occurred to me that I had never met the couple I was bragging about to people in Akron and beyond.
So I got the phone number for South Street Ministries and called. Duane agreed to meet. When we talked, we found that we had a lot in common. I was a follower of Christ serving people north of the expressway with housing; he was attempting to meet their other needs from a location south of the expressway. Duane invited me to the 10th-anniversary celebration of South Street Ministries to be held at the Church of the Good Shepherd on Main Street.
I attended and sat in the back enjoying my anonymity. Duane spoke about the ministry and the programs that were the vehicles to share Christ with the neighbors, one family at a time. He offered the mic to his children, and Hannah, a teenager at the time, spoke eloquently about her dad and his crazy approach to ministry.
At that point, I was hooked. I liked the services Duane and Lisa brought to the neighborhood, but I was blown away with their ability to raise four children in the neighborhood who possessed the freedom to share what could have been an embarrassment for a more traditional pastor of an inner-city ministry.
After several more conversations, Duane invited me to join the Board of South Street Ministries. The original Board had been made up of Duane’s parents and a few neighbors from the community, and there was a need to reorganize the Board with more independent voices …
I served for eight years and left to join the Front Porch Fellowship Elder Board, where we continue to serve the neighborhood as a church that resulted from the merger of South Street and Miller Avenue UCC Church. Now Hillary Stewart is Chair of the SSM Board — carrying on the work of providing stable governance to the work of the ministry with a few of the older members as well as new, younger members.
Through the years, the South Street Ministries Board has sought to enable the good work of the staff to bring help and hope by sharing Christ with the residents of the Summit Lake neighborhood.
We are so grateful to all our friends, near and far, “young and old,” who make South Street Ministries what it is today. Your impact on our communities echoes into eternity.
Community CARE-A-VAN
South Street Ministries had the chance to be a partner on October 31.
How, exactly?
The Summit Lake Community Development Corporation — a newly formed non-profit committed to the development of the Summit Lake neighborhood — hosted a caravan (CARE-A-VAN) through the community distributing face masks, sanitizer, and candy … of course!
- The South Street van and team joined the procession distributing water bottles and paper products.
- OPEN M joined as well, directing individuals toward their employment-support programs.
- METRO gave out bus passes.
- And kids and families from the community came out in costume while area elders were honored for their leadership.
We lucked out with a wonderfully sunny day (whereas the day before had storms, the day after included snow and hail!).
It was a great event for everyone involved … a much-needed break from the everyday for kids and adults alike.
For South Street Ministries, 2020 has been a year of change. The pandemic has necessitated pivots and redirections across programming.
But even before that, a new page was being written for us. The year began with a strategic planning process as we examined and assessed our Mission and Values. The South Street Board of Directors underwent a large shift in membership as well.
In addition, South Street Ministries adopted a new mission:
South Street Ministries equips and inspires the restoration of community, economy, and faith.
It is this mission that will direct the next chapter of outreaches and programs here at South Street, guiding the restoration of reentry, the economy of the Front Porch, and the inspiration of faith within our programming!
However, the more things change, the more they stay the same. South Street’s legacy mission of “Unlikely partners taking shared risks to renew our community for Christ’s sake” will continue to inspire and direct our service and work.
That is why we work with the community to pass out more than 125 bags of PPE and candy … why we do the hard work together.
For the sake of Christ and His Kingdom, we equip and empower in order to see a community renewed and restored!
We are excited for what God has in store for South Street Ministries in, through, and with the community! Thank you so much for being part of it — in both big and little ways — and for making outreaches like our CARE-A-VAN possible.
A Word from Executive Director Joe Tucker
South Street has some history!
It started as a family moving into the neighborhood, growing into a church, then growing into an organization! The Crabbs family still lives and ministers in the Summit Lake neighborhood. The church, now called the Front Porch Fellowship, still meets (presently virtually).
And things are continuing to move forward in the ministry — including plans for 2021 with Bike Shop developments, RICH Kids recruitment, and the next chapter of the Front Porch.
But November gives us a time to pause — to reflect on what God has done. One of the more popular songs of the Front Porch Fellowship for a time was “Blessed Be Your Name,” which recognizes the goodness of God, in good seasons and challenging seasons alike, and is a resolve to praise Him in both ease and difficulty.
One of the simplest checks for me over the state of my heart is how I receive good news. When a grant is awarded, an individual obtains employment, or a young person steps into faith, if my first instinct is to find the negative or concern myself with the next project or person, I know the condition of my spirit is off.
Ministry has taught us to praise God now for what He is actively doing — because all good things come from Him. These are the types of simple truths that yield profound depth when we take the time to pause in thankfulness and reflection.
I cannot recall a year more challenging than 2020. Yet, in all of it, God is still good. And I am thankful for the breadth of community that rallies behind the history, present, and future of South Street Ministries in hard times and in good.
Your prayerful support of South Street Ministries makes every program — every partnership — possible.
We welcome your generous gift today as we walk alongside children, families, and neighbors who need a restored sense of hope. Together, we’re renewing our community for the sake of Jesus Christ.
Thank you, and God bless you!