By Joe Tucker

I am excited to announce the addition of two new members of the South Street staff! 

These individuals are new to the team but have been connected to South Street Ministries for some time.

Like all non-profit organizations, we have a Board of Directors that oversees our work in stewardship, vision, and governance. Board members serve a special role with South Street in the giving of their time and talents to steer and secure the work of the ministry. Elizabeth Kargbo and Shawn Bonner have both served on the South Street Board and now step into being on staff!  

Elizabeth joined the Board of Directors in 2013 and served for five years. She now joins us as Director of Development and Operations. Shawn began in 2019, and now transitions into the position of Director of Community Engagement. It is an answer to prayer to have two individuals who know, understand, and love South Street move into places and positions of full-time ministry and service.

South Street is fortunate to have Bob Irwin, Jocelyn Grant, and David Shahata serving on the Youth Team — and Donovan Harris, LaMarr Atchison, and Roy Johnson Sr. serving on the Reentry Team.  

Now, Elizabeth and Shawn are taking the lead as the start of The Front Porch team to engage the South Akron community, re-engage The Front Porch as a place of hospitality, food, and gathering, and manage the properties of 801 Grant St. and The Front Porch.

At South Street, we believe deeply in the value of place and presence. Throughout all the challenges of the past two years, maintaining a ministry of presence and place at The Front Porch was prioritized — making ways for recovery groups to return and walking the streets of South Akron and Summit Lake to engage the community. 

Now, South Street is prayerfully ready to step from community engagement to community development in South Akron … seeing what new developments can happen in social enterprise at The Front Porch … envisioning what new advances can happen at 801 … working with neighbors and businesses to pray and plan for what is next and new for our neighborhood!

It is good to have an amazing team — and with the team at South Street, it’s family. Thank YOU for being part of OURS!

By Joe Tucker

Wow! We are so grateful for an amazing day, a wonderful ride, and an abundance of support for our 8th Annual Trails N Rails fundraiser!

Saturday, October 9, started off grey but quickly warmed to a sunny morning. More than 40 riders took to the Towpath Trail for a six-mile trek northward along the Cuyahoga River bed.

Riders came from sponsoring companies and churches, friends and supporters of South Street Ministries, and participating youth and families from within the ministry. The ride culminated with a picnic at the Mustill Store.

We are deeply thankful to the many sponsors who supported South Street through this community event:

Title Sponsor: Universal Screen Arts

Sleeve Sponsors: Meyers Mission Fund, Inflatable Office, Semans Family Dentistry

Gold Sponsors: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Akron Gasket, Akron Community Foundation, R&S Truck Caps, Holy Trinity Lutheran, Smash My Trash, IMMIX Marketing, Grace Church, Christ Community Chapel, Associated Underwriters Insurance

Silver Sponsors: Augere Construction, Hottle & Associates, Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, Alpha Homes, Inc., Troike Building Corp., Minnesota Title Insurance, Rains Plastics

Bronze Sponsors: Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority, Summit County ADM Board, Akron Apron, Malone University: School of Social Work, Fellowship of Christian Officials

Thank YOU, as well, for making an impact in and among families around South Akron through this unique way to engage the community! Collectively, over $30,000 was raised to further the work of South Street Ministries!

We covered this day in prayer … and God answered! Thank you again for being a part of this work, this grace, and this ministry.

By: Bob Irwin

The world has experienced a lot of loss over the last couple years … and we at RICH Kids are no exception! 

Yet I’m not here to talk about that — we are all too familiar with how the world has transitioned and changed. Two words have really been at the forefront of my mind lately: Bounce Back. Everyone who can ride a bike knows that when you first learned, you fell off a bunch … but you also know the only way to truly learn was to get back on and keep riding!

We made many pivots at RICH Kids throughout this pandemic. We first went all virtual — then we did a hybrid of virtual and in-person … all while maintaining support through grocery and supply drop-offs. This summer, we began to meet in-person with limited numbers — which brings us to this school year … 

We are back in full force! We have begun to further develop our partnership with McEbright CLC, the school where most of our students attend. And now we are up to serving around 20 kids daily! We are back to offering two daily snacks as well as our recreation and enrichment activities. 

God has been with us and with our students and their families through everything, and because we have been faithful to His call on our lives and His call for this program, we are now seeing the fruit of persevering. 

I encourage you today: please help us continue this work! 

1. First, by praying — pray for the program and the kids. 
2. Secondly, and very practically, we need volunteers! We need caring adults who would like to invest in some remarkable kids’ lives. 

For more info on how to volunteer you can email me at bob@southstreetministries.org, or Jocelyn Grant and jgrant@southstreetministries.org, our Volunteer and Education Director. Thank you in advance!

By Joe Tucker

I often sit on the bench at The Front Porch and watch the birds. 

Between meetings and ministry, between programs and people, I’ll take a few short moments to watch the sparrows. There are usually some crumbs left behind by passengers at the bus stop that the small birds pick at. 

Along the southern face of The Front Porch, there are a few small indentations within the building brick where the sparrows have made a home. For me, these small birds are a deep and large reminder of the Kingdom and goodness of God. And Lauryn Hill’s rendition of “His Eye is On the Sparrow” plays in my head: 

I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free;
For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

These words from the gospel of Matthew echo in my spirit: 

• “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (10:29-31).
• “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches” (13:31-32).

Those noisy birds are my simple and daily reminder that God watches over. A reminder that the small acts of love enacted at South Street grow deep and transformational roots. That the many men, women, and children we serve have a deep and eternal value.

I pray you have a few slow moments of reflection today too. That the tweets of the small birds around your home remind you of the deep care of God. 

There are some exciting updates and ministry moments shared in the following — and I am very grateful for partners and friends like you that help make this work possible!

Your generosity by December 31, 2021, will make an impact next year and beyond! Here are a few tax-wise, year-end giving strategies — beyond gifts of cash — you may want to consider:

1. Giving from an established Donor Advised Fund (DAF) allows you to claim a charitable deduction in the year you contribute to the DAF while making donations to a ministry like South Street over time.
2. If you are 70½ years of age or older, you can use Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) to make direct donations to a charity out of your IRA. This type of distribution can be counted toward satisfying the annual Required Minimum Distribution from an IRA … the amount donated via the QCD is excluded from your income (which helps lower taxes and provides other benefits) … and you do not have to itemize deductions to utilize this strategy.
3. A gift of appreciated securities — like stocks or mutual funds that have increased in value — is one way to avoid capital gains tax on the donated security as long as it has been held for more than one year. This strategy will also help reduce your taxable income because of the itemized charitable deduction.

Please talk with your financial advisor — or contact Elizabeth Kargbo at ekargbo@southstreetministries.org — about these and other giving options that will maximize your impact on children and families in South Akron and Summit Lake. God bless you!