Grace Community Center Programs
The Center will be used as a hub for the community with Family Fun Nights and regular worship services and recovery meetings. We also intend to provide some employment opportunities through some of our retail ventures including a coffee shop, bookstore, thrift store, moving company and child care. The first phase of renovations and remodeling are now underway and expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2008.
Our programs include:
After School Program:
The Center will provide programs that are irresistible to high school and middle school youth. Programs will provide productive and positive opportunity for youth to develop spiritually, personally and physically and will offer an alternative to loneliness and negative peer pressure while promoting crime and gang prevention. We will work to create a community within our community of caring, mutually–supportive people providing a safe Christian environment for youth.
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GED Team:
Saturday mornings continue to be a bastion of higher education for our GED students. The GED Team is comprised entirely of volunteers dedicated to assisting adults who are committed to completing a General Education Diploma (GED). In partnership with Lee County School District – Adult Workforce Education Division, Grace Church has piloted a Saturday morning GED Preparation Program geared toward the working adult. The Saturday morning program complements the Monday through Thursday evening classes currently offered by the school district.
The Team members volunteer every Saturday morning to teach and assist in the classroom. A Hospitality Table provides a welcoming environment with coffee, juice, and pastries to allow students and volunteers an opportunity for fellowship. Tutors in the five subjects are available during class or on a one-on-one basis for assistance and study tips. Future partnerships will include Literacy Volunteers, Mentoring, and Job Preparation.
You may begin your GED pursuit ANY Saturday morning, as there are no set beginning and ending cycles. Classes are every Saturday from 9am-12n. Hospitality starts at 8:30am, so come early and meet your fellow students and the team. We look forward to seeing you!
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Thrift Store Team:
The Thrift Store ministry gets to serve the community at many levels. Through community donations, we are able to give clothing, housewares, even furniture and appliances to people in need. The revenues generated from the sale of these items to the public are far below retail value, are the available to fund the other ministries and programs on the Grace Community Center. Our mission statement is: Partnering with God, to help people in need and to generate revenue to support Grace Community Center ministries so that our neighbors may lead lives of dignity and freedom, to the glory of God.
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Fundraising Team:
Our mission is to raise the necessary resources needed to support the programs that GCC will be offering to the community. Whether that is in the way of volunteer time, items of donation (both volunteer time and items donated have a measurable value), or monies (obviously this is the main focus), we work diligently toward raising the requested and needed funds to support all GCC Programs. Our primary fundraising efforts (link to Fundraising page here) currently focus on the GCC Shopping Cards program, a Grace Community Center Annual Golf Tournament, UHS T-Shirts (and an upcoming GCC T-Shirt), and Business Sponsorships.
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Medical Ministry:
"Making a difference through Christ, by...touching lives and providing community access to compassionate care, leading to... physical, emotional and spiritual wellness.”
In addition to free and sliding fee medical care through our partnerships with Family Health Center and Senior Friendship Centers, we are working on the development of a medical triage referral service where our trained volunteers can help and direct our neighbors to appropriate care and services.
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Coffee Shop:
This team hopes to change and transform lives by providing a warm, welcoming, Christian environment to meet the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of our community. We foresee that the coffee shop may many times, be the first step onto our campus, so we want to make sure our guests feel welcome, relaxed and comfortable.
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Also Coming:
Automotive Repair Job Training
Food Bank
Literacy Classes
Meals on Wheels
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