Strengthen the Community
INTERFAITH LEGAL CLINIC
COMMUNITY THANKSGIVING DINNER
Each year, on Thanksgiving Eve, we prepare and serve a complete dinner, with turkey and all the trimmings, to many who would not otherwise have one. In cooperation with Kent State University and the participation of several area churches, hundreds of volunteers seek to feed the soul as well as the body. This program is not limited to our geographic service area but reaches into almost all neighborhoods of greater Akron.
CHRISTMAS BASKET PROGRAM
Each year, through the generosity of numerous businesses, fraternal organizations, church groups and individuals, we are able to provide several hundred families with a bit of holiday warmth. Volunteers rehabilitate toys and sort through thousands of donated items — both new and gently used — to create a collection of food, toys and clothing to assist those who might not otherwise have much to celebrate at Christmas.
Families, businesses, and church groups "adopt" families for the holiday. Gifts for each member of the family are selected by the sponsors. In addition, sponsors assemble all the fixings for Christmas dinner and ( if they wish) deliver the fruits of their labor directly to the family they have selected.
At the same time, the churches of OPEN M each adopt an item of food to build 200 food boxes (e.g. one congregation provides 200 turkeys; another collects 600 boxes of macaroni-and-cheese dinners). When these items are assembled, they make up a week's menu for a family. These are distributed to the last 200 families after all the gifts have run out.
RUBBER CITY WORK CAMP
Each Summer we provide a program of mission education and service through our unique urban work camp. Campers live in our Neighborhood Center and spend each day working at various repair and painting projects for a week. Work sites include church buildings and the homes of persons who need assistance in keeping their home; we focus especially on the disabled and elderly who are unable to make necessary repairs themselves.
Each evening, campers are hosted for dinner by different congregations. Experiencing different ethnic groups, their food and particular ways of being in mission to their communities brings new awareness to the issues of urban ministry.
