By Joe Tucker

As I left the church service of the Front Porch Fellowship one recent Sunday, two guests were unlocking their road bikes. I approached them to take a look at the make and type of their tires, and they asked me if I ride.

Honestly, no. My bike collects dust in my garage — similar to many of the Bike Shop donations. The hustle of ministry, vocation, family, and places to be pulls me away from casual cycling. But as my children are in the early phases of losing their training wheels, there is hope for recreational bike rides in my family’s future! 

Whether biking for family fun or necessary transportation, Bike Shop was there to support the communities of Summit Lake and Kenmore! 

We were thrilled to return to 130 W. South St. for our Monday and Wednesday Bike Shop program where youth (and adults) came to learn how to repair bicycles and earn their own ride through the work-equity they put in at the shop.  

More than 75 participants this summer visited the Bike Shop to work on a bicycle … and over 100 bikes were earned. (We had a few repeat customers over the summer months!)

But the Bike Shop grew beyond that! We hosted “Sales and Shares” at the Summit Lake Farmers Market and Kenmore’s First Fridays. We had over 60 individuals rent a bike for free during these community events, and a few people even purchased pumps or bike locks. 

This past week I dusted off my own bike and went for a short ride with my youngest. I was reminded of the simple joy of rushing down a hill and felt deeply reflective as I watched my own child grow in skill and independence.  

Through the many bicycles that partners gave — South Street Ministries was able to empower these kinds of special moments for many within our community, too. 

Jesus would often ask the crowds around Him if they had eyes to see and ears to hear… 

I am thankful for the things we have seen this summer:

• Caring volunteers working patiently to help neighborhood families learn to repair bikes,
• Gracious older siblings repairing bikes with their younger family members,
• Families riding together along the lake, paths, and streets of Summit Lake and Kenmore,
• Spirit-filled community reflecting the Kingdom to come.

I am thankful I pulled out my own bike this summer. I am thankful for this special time in life where I get to teach my own children to ride. I am thankful for the many bikes that were donated and the chance to keep the work moving forward through Trails N Rails. 

But mostly, I am thankful for eyes to see what God is doing in the hearts of families and youth in our community.

By Jocelyn Grant

Rain, rain, go away! You were just here yesterday!

Rain AND shine, RICH Kids embraced the times we are living in and managed to learn, play, and experiment this summer — all within the safety of masked small groups each day.

During our academic time, some of the children worked through vocabulary, reading, and comprehension challenges, while others zipped through the books they read — but everyone enjoyed tossing around the football outside when they were finished with their work! On rainy days, we played Uno Attack and Jenga … and boy did we see the mighty fall! 

For a few days, we were joined by student volunteers from the JAM program at Archbishop Hoban High School, where we took flight with a paper airplane competition. Regardless of the activity, the camaraderie between students and staff was wonderful to see.

We also enjoyed special classes taught by our qualified instructors:

• Bible Block class with David Shahata,
• Cooking class with Chef Dannika Stevenson,
• and Mental/emotional wellness activities with therapist Felicia Johnson, M.Ed., LPC. 

In one especially delicious cooking excursion, students conducted an experiment with Ms. Danni to determine whether they would prefer to prepare and eat packaged, boxed, or vegan chocolate pudding. You probably already know what the unanimous choice was — but at least they can say they enjoyed learning more about something they like!

The students also created self-portraits and a video with Ms. Felicia to discuss how they see themselves, and how they treat others in their relationships. 

Finally, David invited the students and staff to use visual art as a way to better express, understand, and internalize God’s love for each of us. 

As the summer comes to a close, we are excited that the RICH Kids staff will be embarking into a deeper partnership with United Way of Summit County and McEbright Community Learning Center. 

“McEbright Mondays” begin September 20 — where new and old students alike can participate in our program right after school, within the school building. This will eliminate the need for transportation to the program on Mondays and will encourage parents to learn more about our enrichment curriculum. 

RICH Kids leaders have also already signed on to attend instructional sessions, teaching us techniques to strengthen the reading skills of our students and help close the achievement gap. In addition, we have welcomed student teachers from the University of Akron as volunteers to serve our students in this new endeavor.

We are ecstatic to begin a larger scope of McEbright engagement, while continuing the remainder of our daily program, Tuesdays through Thursdays, at our usual site at South Street Ministries. 

It’s been a remarkable summer, and it’s going to be a banner year for the RICH Kids family!

***
Your prayers and support for RICH Kids are important! With a new school year underway, pray for the safety, commitment, and growth of our students … and sign up to join the valuable work done at RICH Kids as a volunteer by emailing Jocelyn@southstreetministries.org or visiting our website!

Check out this video to hear from Joe and Toni about Trails N Rails — a fun-filled event that brings friends and family outdoors for a morning of exercise and enjoyment … AND helps raise funds for a ministry that is changing the lives of today’s South Akron community:

Don’t miss out on the fun — Come ride with us! Click here to register.

Big thanks to our title sponsor Universal Screen Arts!

A leading internet retailer and mail-order cataloguer, Universal Screen Arts is committed to strengthening the connections between its customers and their loved ones by providing thousands of unique and expressive gifts at affordable prices. (Key brands include Acorn, Bas Bleu, Daedalus Books, Shop PBS, Signals, Support Plus, and What on Earth!)

“Universal Screen Arts is proud to be a continuing sponsor of South Street’s Trails and Rails. We have been and remain very impressed with the positive influence and good deeds [in] the local community and are happy to partner with them again this year.”

We are grateful for each and every sponsor for this year’s event. If you’d like to sponsor Trails N Rails, simply click here!

By Jocelyn Grant

Value. 

I was asked what changes I could make for the benefit of my program if I had additional support. 

The answer? Instilling a sense of value in the young ladies within my sphere of influence. 

Through the Know-COVID grant, we were able to do just that.

Thirteen young ladies attended #AdjustTheCrown’s three-day journaling series — “Can We Just Talk?” During our time, the girls interacted with therapist Felicia Johnson, M.Ed., LPC, certified fitness coach DeNaye Black, and myself, the founder and program director for #AdjustTheCrown. 

My colleagues and I shared reasons to value oneself, and strategies to demonstrate that value by being intentional with health and wellness — understanding its impact on an individual’s body, mind, and spirit. 

The series was centered on the healthy exercise and expression of journaling. Journaling is a mindful way to reflect on ideas through the recording of thoughts, epiphanies, and feelings. #AdjustTheCrown hosted this series as an introduction to journaling — a healthy coping skill that will help attendees begin or continue to understand and celebrate their inherent value as they develop, learn, and grow.

The series culminated in an affirmation exercise. The young ladies were asked to first look into their own mirrors and affirm themselves aloud. The group then affirmed each attendee as she walked our red carpet. After their affirmations, we gave each young lady a tiara (their crown) to remind them of their priceless value.

I extend immense thanks to Dr. Brenda Marina, a long-time volunteer and supporter of South Street Ministries and #AdjustTheCrown. I would also like to thank Cat Derrick of the Cleveland Clinic, and Bronlynn Thurman of the GAR Foundation for her belief and support. 

Thank you to the South Street team: Joe Tucker and Lisa Crabbs — for their help and support for this program and series. 

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the wonderful vendors who used their creativity to make this series beautiful and memorable: Mull Media, Affirmed Artistry, Balloon.Pop.Posh, Marques Restaurant, Healing Hearts CCS, and Black2Life Fitness Ministry.

Jocelyn Grant is the founder and director of #AdjustTheCrown. We’re grateful for her

passion for and commitment to this ministry. And South Street is thankful for your partnership … you help make this outreach possible!

By Joe Tucker

Akron is fortunate to be the home to an organization like Project Ujima.

Project Ujima came to Akron in 2011. Since then, it has served the community as a tool that facilitates discussion across diverse groups of citizens. Through a unique process called Discussion Circles, Project Ujima allows community members to discuss issues of concern, build relationships, and move the conversations forward into positive action.

South Street’s partnership with Project Ujima as a consulting service allows us access to training for new facilitators, supported customization of the Discussion Circle process, and more! 

The word “Ujima” translates to “collective work and responsibility” — the notion that the responsibility of transforming our community falls on all of us. If there is work that we desire to see done — we are the ones who should do it.

Project Ujima’s Discussion Circle process takes time … because it starts with the simple, yet necessary, step of listening to each other. This is a tenant of Christian Community Development — you have to listen to your neighborhood!

Our Across The Lake initiative was a Discussion Circle designed to bring residents from the Summit Lake and Kenmore communities together — to share, to listen, to and to envision what is next for our neighborhoods. 

So we spent four weeks in August doing just that: using Circle Sessions to listen, reflect, and commit to the next steps in our community’s development. After all, “Ujima” means it is our work — our collective responsibility — to bring about the change we desire.

There is more still to come from Across The Lake! Our video project capturing these stories will be hosted in November — you can sign up here for more details. Also, the small group of Discussion Circle participants are planning big things to bring us Around The Lake together!

We are grateful for Project Ujima and its unique approach to bringing individuals together to discuss, learn, and take action for community development. 

And we are thankful for your partnership and prayers as we all work together to strengthen the neighborhoods of South Akron!