CITY SERVE
Grace Church partners with a variety of organizations throughout the Greater Akron Area. Find out more about each of these opportunities below to see how each one impacts the community, as well as ways to be involved.
Are you interested in serving locally? Click the button below and fill out the City Interest Form.
KEY CITY PARTNERS
First Glance offers programs to students (grades 6-12) and young adults (ages 18-29) in the Kenmore Community. Their programs include a recreational night, young adults program, skate night, an abstinence program, The Connect for young parents. Their goal is to offer teens and young adults a safe place of grace and unconditional love.
Ways to Serve: Be a friend to teens during Ladies Night Out, Man Up, Rec Night, The Connect, or bible study, bring prepared meals
Next Steps: Fill out the City Interest form at the top of the page and a Grace staff will reach out to help get you connected and/or fill out a volunteer application here.
Rahab is devoted to rescuing and restoring women who have been trafficked. Their programs include prison visits, pen pal ministry, Bible studies (in and out of prisons), Soup ‘n’ Shop (women come from the jail to have a home-cooked meal, shop the boutique, and hear about Christ’s love), prayer walks, and Strip Club outreaches, and more.
Ways to Serve: Volunteers needed at Soup ‘n’ Shop to visit with the women, be a part of the Club Outreach, Street team, Minor Mentors, Adult Mentors, Jail ministry, and Bible Studies.
Next Steps: Fill out the City Interest form at the top of the page and a Grace staff will reach out to help you get connected and/or sign up for Rahab’s orientation here.
South Street is a group of individuals who are committed to living, serving, and loving on the Summit Lake community through a variety of programs like bike shop, summer camp, after school tutoring, and open gym.
Ways to Serve: Rich Kids after school tutoring, Faithful Servants medical clinic, being a friend at Re-Entry meetings, Providing meals for re-entry, Bike Shop, Open Gym, Summer Camp, eat at the Front Porch and financially supporting the ministry.
Next Steps: Fill out the City Interest form at the top of the page and a Grace staff will reach out to help you get connected.
Urban Vision serves in the North Akron community to share the story of Jesus one child and family at a time. Their programs include after school tutoring (SOS), Kids Club (pre-k to 5th grade), Explorers (6th-12th grade), On Your Mark preschool, and summer camp and Summer SOS
Ways to Serve: Tutoring, After School program support, Kids Club assistant, Supply donations, teach a skill to the students, volunteer at the Back to School and Christmas Store, financially support Urban Vision.
Next Steps: Attend the next CityServe Orientation and fill out an application: https://www.ministryopportunities.org/Application.aspx?oid=14216
A Christ-centered, Biblically-based and clinically-supported 12-month residential ministry for men struggling with drug and/or alcohol addiction. Their desire is to provide compassionate, individualized care and life-changing truth which empowers men struggling with drug and/or alcohol addiction to restore their relationship with God.
Ways to Serve:Â Prayer team, provide haircuts for the men monthly, help with food needs, orientation help, and nurse practitioner
Next Steps:Â Attend the next CityServe Orientation and fill out the volunteer form on their website at https://restoreaddictionrecovery.com/connect-with-us/volunteer/
Akron Youth Mentorship desires to transform worldview perspective from societal dependence to personal independence through application of Biblical principles, importance of education, necessity of excellence in vocational efforts, and life skills mentoring.
Ways to Serve: Group and individual mentoring for elementary and high school age students, tutoring, work readiness, as well as summer programming.
Next Steps:Â Attend the next CityServe Orientation and meet with a staff member (Justice Furno) about getting involved at justice@akronyouthmentorship.org.
DEVELOPING CITY PARTNERS
Hope Landing desires to see the homeless community in Akron discover, experience, and live in Jesus’ love for them. They do this by being a refuge, building relationships, and bearing Jesus’ message of reconciliation.
Ways to Serve:
Connect with homeless men and women through a weekly shared meal. Engage homeless women through a monthly gatherings. Help homeless men and women discover Jesus through Bible Studies. Provide instruction, accountability, and support for men and women to live out their faith through new Life Groups.Â
Next Steps:Â Contact Sarah Yajko at syajko@graceohio.org to be connected to Hope Landing
Farming with Friends employs people with disabilities on an 87-acre farm in Hinckley, Ohio. Our mission is to restore God’s creation through regenerative farming, employment of people with disabilities, and community engagement.
Ways to Serve:Â Come to the farm and help with farm projects, serve at events, and purchase items produced at the farm
Next Steps: Contact Tristan through their website under the contactÂ
SEEDnet’s mission is to infiltrate spiritually, emotionally, economically, and developmentally oppressed people-groups, proclaim the gospel, and then give them their own church.
Ways to Serve: Become a person of peace within a under-resourced community
Next Steps:Â Attend the next CityServe Orientation and meet with a SEEDnet staff person
​Legacies of Success is a Christian community development corporation created to help revitalize and stabilize the North Hill community by providing affordable housing and promoting homeownership.
Ways to Serve:Â Assist in home improvement projects
Next Steps: Attend the next CityServe Orientation and fill out the volunteer information at https://www.legaciesofsuccess.org/volunteer.html
Their goal is to engage families via faith communities to open their homes to care for vulnerable children. They desire to help families before a crisis hits with the hope that they can keep families intact, minimize children entering foster care, and reduce abuse and neglect.Â
Ways to Serve: Attend the training to become a host family, to be able to provide a short-term, safe environment for kids whose families are in crisis. Become a family friend to support the host family and/or the biological family with practical needs. Host an informational gathering in your home.
Next Steps:Â Contact Sarah Yajko at syajko@graceohio.org to be connected to Safe Families
We have come alongside Copley Middle School to work with students as tutors during the school day but also to be able to mentor students one-on-one and begin to build relationships with them.
Ways to Serve:Â Tutor/Mentor a student during 1-2 periods a week.
Next Steps: Attend a brief orientation with Student Ministries and Child approval through Grace Church. Click on learn more below to fill out the form and let us know you are interested.