The Grace Community Center Mission is: “To foster the health and well-being of children, adults and seniors within our service area, through programs that promote food security, education and career readiness, and quality senior living.”

 

2022 Mission Accomplishments for Neighborhood Children

• Edu-camp, a youth enrichment summer program created to support the academic, physical and social wellness of urban youth was held for 42 K-8th graders. Thirty-four (34) youth participated & completed the Standard Academic track designed to avert summer loss in reading and math.   

- The avg. GAIN in reading skills was .8  grade levels
  (none lost ground)

- The avg. GAIN in math skills was .2 grade levels
  (none lost ground)

- 3,590 “Chill out & Read” pages were recorded in reading logs  

• The Natural Science Programming was provided in 2 forms for different age groups through partnerships with the CSU and OSU Extension Services as well as the Metro Parks. Topics included everything from Vegetable Gardening  to Bee Keeping.

• Social and emotional learning topics were presented by leaders from the Girl Scouts, the Police Dept. & agency staff. Those topics included Making Good Choices, violence prevention & Dealing Effectively with Authority.

 

2022 Mission Accomplishments for Seniors

• Among the Center’s Savvy Seniors, there were reports of significant reductions in blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure levels due to increased consumption of fresh vegetables.

• Over a period of 8 months, 10 neighborhood seniors participated in the Beginners Farmers program hosted by Central State University Extension and provided over 400 hours of additional staffing support to the garden operation.

• 5 seniors volunteered at Edu-Camp thru the Foster Grandparents program on assignment from Senior Center Inc.  This team was instrumental in providing support to the Friday “Chill out & Read “  activities.

• An evidence-based chronic disease management training program was implemented in collaboration with The Area Office on Aging

 

2022 Mission Accomplishments for Persons Facing Food Insecurity

• GCC  served 1500 households with the distribution of emergency food and personal care items

• 400 Senior/Disabled persons received monthly delivered food boxes  

• 91% of walk-in Pantry recipients and 95% of home delivery recipients report improved food security.

• From our garden, over 4000 lbs. of vegetables have been grown, harvested, and 95 percent of it distributed to food-insecure families.