If you would like additional ideas or general information about Urban Ministry at Thornapple, contact Chuck Hahn at chuckhahn1@yahoo.com.
Current Urban Ministry Service Opportunities
Urban Ministry Opportunities
New - Habitat Build starting August 2012: We will begin working on a Habitat house at: 327 Freyling SE in Grand Rapids starting in August 2012. There will be work days in August, September and October. Watch for sign ups later in the summer. To see a rendering of the house that we will be helping to build, click here.
In-Kind Donations: Bus Tickets (can be purchased at: www.ridetherapid.org/fares or all area D & W Food Centers, Family Fare or Meijer stores), Reading Glasses, Razors, Deodorant, Toothpaste, Toothbrushes, Lotion, Chapstick, Adult Winter Gloves and Hats, Socks and Underwear. Also, Baby Food, Diapers and Baby Formula. Children’s school supplies, Winter Hats and Gloves. All Donations can be brought directly to the organization or to TECC and placed in the Urban Ministry bin. Small items such as Bus Tickets should be placed in the Urban Ministry Mailbox. The items will be distributed amongst various organizations where most needed. For more extensive wish lists please visit individual organization websites listed below.
Alpha Women's Center Is a placed where women are cherished and encouraged and offers hope, acceptance and grace. Volunteer opportunities include Community at Heart, a center for woman and children, Hope Corner, a beauty salon and Alpha Women's Center, a pregnancy care center. Volunteer opportunities include mentoring to women and teens, sorting of children’s clothing, children’s activities, GED training, cooking classes, beauty salon services. Donations of supplies, especially diapers, are always needed. Call Ruth at 616-459-9955 for inquiries on volunteering or visit www.alphawc.org.
Baxter Community Center The center seeks to be a resource for basic human needs and a safe haven for young people in it’s community. This is done through effective programs and partnerships. Volunteer opportunities include: Mentors for the Mizizi Maji teen mentoring program, Meal Preparers, Tutors, Sponsors for end of the year Good Grades field trips, Sewing Instructors, RNs, LPN,s and Pediatric Nurses for the Wholistic Health Clinic, a Budget Coach, Food & Clothing Pantry Volunteers, Arts/Music Activity leader for the Child Development Center. If you are interested contact Georgia Taylor at 456-8593 ext. 224. For more on Baxter go to: www.baxtercommunitycenter.org.
Degage Ministries Serves the poor in the Heartside Neighborhood of Grand Rapids by providing a Life Enrichment Center, a Food Pantry, Meal Services and Overnight Shelter for women. Thornapple volunteers serve the first Saturday night of each month. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Marny Danz at mdanz@thornapple.org. For other Degage volunteer opportunities go to www.degageministries.org For more information call Dégagé at (616) 454-1661.
Family Promise Provides emergency and long term housing, training and mentoring for families. It is one of only two emergency shelters for entire families in the area. They need volunteers of all ages; individuals, small groups, breakfast club groups or families. This could be a one time or ongoing volunteer opportunity, times are flexible. Help with the children, meals, overnight stays or by coming down to their day center to read to a preschool child. Provide a bank of volunteer services from the TECC family such as job training, literacy programs, mentoring, transportation assistance and babysitting services. They also need help periodically with moving clients into new housing. If you are interested in any of these opportunities, or to learn more, go to: http://www.familypromisegr.org. To view of a list of items that Family Promise is in need of, click here.
Feeding America West Michigan A food bank consisting of seven warehouses that links surplus food with people in need. They serve 1,300+ food pantries, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, domestic violence shelters, rescue missions, and other charity agencies across 40 Michigan counties. Volunteers are needed to sort and re-pack food to be sent to pantries. This is great for groups, families or individuals. To learn more about volunteering, or to schedule a time to visit the Grand Rapids food bank, please contact Dena Rogers at (616)784-3250. Their website is: http://www.feedingamericawestmichigan.org/
Guiding Light Mission An emergency overnight shelter for men with lunch and dinner for anyone in need. Also, Spiritual Truth And Recovery Training, a four month, residential, Christian based, addiction recovery program for men. Volunteer opportunities range from professional services such as legal aid and financial counseling, to other tasks such as working in the kitchen and making beds. To volunteer call Darla Davis, 451-0236 and also complete an online individual or group application at www.lifeonthestreet.org.
Habitat for Humanity Builds and refurbishes homes for low income families here and around the world. They have easy online registration where you can sign up to volunteer as an individual or group. If you would like to work on renovating houses for low income families in Grand Rapids visit their website for more information,www.habitatkent.org. Weekday and weekend dates are available. Small groups can also sign up by calling the Volunteer Coordinator at the Habitat for Humanity Kent County Office: 774-2431. In the late summer early fall of 2012 we will be participating in a Habitat build. If you are interested in helping, contact Marny at mdanz@thornapple.org.
Hard Times Cafe A family style soup kitchen run by our Heartside Neighborhood friends. It is located at Westminster Presbyterian Church. TECC currently provides volunteers on the first and second Thursday of every month. Contact Karen Gerard if you would like to volunteer or for more details at karen.gerard@gmail.com. In addition we also provide deserts for after the meal. Contact Karen if you would like to donate homemade desserts.
Health Intervention Services Medical Professionals, Social Workers and Business People serving the underprivileged who do not have access to health care. This is a unique medical clinic that serves a huge need in Grand Rapids. Currently they need a few volunteers to help with cleaning the clinic. Their website is: http://www.hisgr.org/
Kids Food Basket KFB is a hunger relief agency that provides sack dinners to school children who would not otherwise get a dinner. Small groups or individuals who are interested in volunteering should contact KFB at 235-4532 to sign up. If you have a group who would like to serve, call soon to get the best choice of dates. Their website is: www.kidsfoodbasket.org.
Pregnancy Resource Center Crisis Pregnancy Intervention, 24 hour Helpline, Educational Information and Assistance for parents with babies. Volunteers needed to help in the office, sort clothing, pregnancy counseling, teen drama team, maintenance or office cleaning. If you would like to volunteer, contact Becky at 776-3840 ext. 116. Their website is: www.prcforlife.org
Project Hope Fund Provides funding for faith based professional counseling and educational services in collaboration with local ministries. Services are provided to those with little or no ability to pay. This fund helps provide mental health services through these local inner city partners: Byron Community Ministries, Christian Counseling Center, Health Intervention Services, The Other Way Ministries & The Potters House School. A unique service meeting a very specific need to the poor people of G.R. More information can be found at http://cccwmich.org/services/outreach-services/project-hope-fund
Safe Haven Ministries offers domestic abuse services to women and their children as well as community education and prevention programs. Thornapple collects used cell phones and donates them to Safe Haven. The phones are wiped clean of all data before they are re-used. There is a collection box outside of the community room by the Global Missions bulletin board. To read more and see the number of phones we have donated so far, click here. Their website is: http://www.safehavenministries.org/
Servants Center A unique organization offering relationship based street outreach and ongoing support services to mentally ill poor and homeless people in GR. The are always in need of individuals who will offer ongoing support and build relationships with the clients, as well as financial support. To learn more, contact Chuck Hahn at chuckhahn1@yahoo.com. Their website is: http://www.servantscenter.org
Treehouse Ministry - A group of young adults with a heart for ministering in the Baxter community have created a community garden. Their hope it that it will no only provide food for the nearby residents, but also be a place for the community to come together. For more about this new ministry, click here.
The West Michigan Refugee Education and Cultural Center Provides tutoring/homework help from 4 until 6 pm weekdays to refugee students, mostly from Somalia or Ethiopia, who are in grades K-12. High school or college students are a great help to these kids who are learning to speak English at the same time that they are trying to learn math, science and social studies. For more information contact the center at 616-247-9611 or visit their website at www.westmirefugee.org
If you would like to learn about the Glenn Van Noord Short-Term Urban Missions Program for students and young adults, click here. This program enables students (juniors and seniors in high school, and college students) to earn money while working for a summer in one of our urban ministry partner organizations. There are full and part time positions.
Seize the opportunity to get involved in one of these projects or others available right here in Grand Rapids. Make a difference in our local community today!
