There's nothing we like better here than visits from our favorite people! Intern Cameron Fortune came to visit and work with us while on Spring Break from college. Thanks, Cam, for the extra pair of helping hands and the fun you bring to the job. Now we look forward to May when he will return to GG for the summer!

We have been busy with a variety of tasks the last few weeks, as we have gone from being bundled up while shoveling snow to enjoying short sleeves while shoveling mulch. The weather in Ohio always keeps us guessing! But, when it's not raining, we love getting outside and working hard. We are getting areas ready to plant, cleaning up flowerbeds, digging up more scrap metal - (Really, it's like a treasure hunt out here!), clearing away downed trees, and even working on building a new bridge to be placed in the woods. Each day brings new tasks, new skills, and new fun at Goodness Grows!

We sure are! We've started some seeds inside and already have sprouts. That means CSA season is getting closer!! If you're as excited as we are about fresh produce, you might want to consider subscribing to our Community Supported Agriculture program. You can sign up for a Weekly Share (14 weeks, $252 Early Bird/$280 after April 29th) or a Bi-Weekly Share (7 weeks, $140) of farm fresh goodness grown here in North Lima and on other local farms. We only have 8 Shares left for this growing season. Payment deadline to get Early Bird price on Weekly Share is April 29 and the final deadline to join is May 27. Since we have already received 7 paid subscriptions (THANK YOU to our awesome CSA subscribers!), there is no guarantee that we won't fill up well before our deadlines. Don't miss out! Mail your payment soon or, even better, stop in for a visit Monday-Friday, 9am-2pm, and drop it off in person! We would love to show you around!

If you are ready to subscribe or would like to chat with us about it, call 330-549-9408, email
Jen Lynch, use the "Contact Us" form on our website, or message us on Facebook. We promise to answer you as quickly as possible. Subscribing is super easy! All we need is your payment, name, email, and best contact phone number. Checks can be made out to Goodness Grows and mailed or dropped off to 2310 W. South Range Rd., North Lima, OH, 44452. We are usually available at Goodness Grows Monday through Friday from 9am-2pm.

We were running low on jam after the fantastic market at Birdfish in Columbiana at the begnning of the month. (Thanks, Birdfish, for the terrific event! Thanks to Kitty and Dustin for manning our table!) Our crew jumped into action to rebuild our stock of flavors. Available currently at GG:

Jungle Jam: Blueberry Jalapeno, Hot, Cranberry Jalapeno, Cherry Habanero, Pineapple Habanero, Dragon

Juicy Jam: Cranberry Orange

Additional Items for Sale:

Wine Cork Cat Toys - $1 / Organic Catnip Toys - $4 / Fresh Dried GG Grown Herbs - $1

Our partner church in Mission Trips, Canfield Presbyterian, has temporarily suspended the mission housing program. They hope to have the program up and running for next summer.

As we get closer to Summer 2022, we are thinking about Summer Work Days. Last summer, we had several youth groups come out for one day projects. We would be glad to arrange a work day/service project for your group. Come in the morning, take a lunch break with us, and then stay for an afternoon work period or leave after eating. Give us a call and we can work
together and plan a project day for you. If you know any groups who might be interested
in an opportunity for service here, please help us spread the word!

There are so many ways to be a part of our GG family and to help us continue to
do our work here in North Lima!

• Practice the "3 R's" - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. ~ Donate your old 8oz. canning jars for jam making. We also accept jars of other sizes for various projects. Drop off your coffee grounds and clean egg shells for our garden compost. Donate reusable shopping bags that we can use for CSA pick up and for the October Coat & Clothing (& More!) Giveaway. Have clean, useable clothes and household items you no longer need? Donate those here to the Giveaway, providing us with an important project to work on and providing the community with a valuable resource that allows people to obtain needed goods.

• Donate supplies. ~ 8oz. canning jars (regular mouth), canning jar lids, and canning jar rings are always needed. Making jam is an important part of who we are and what we do. Jam sales help fund our clients' wages and the work we do. Donations of these necessary supplies help defray the cost of jam making and lets us keep our jam price affordable.

• Volunteer. ~ Stop out when the weather is good and weed. (We fight a never-ending battle with the weeds and all help is positively treasured!) We also appreciate volunteers who want to teach us a skill, help with a project, cook and bake with us, and more. If you want to volunteer, talk to Rachel Vignon and get ready to have plenty of fun and laughs with our fabulous crew!

• Purchase items. ~ Invest in a CSA share. Buy jam, cat toys, herbs, etc. from our table at Common Ground or when you see us out in the community at a show or market. Knowing that people want and appreciate the projects that our clients work so hard on means more than you know!

• Spread the word. ~ Tell the people you know about Goodness Grows and what we do. Let them know that we love volunteers and hosting service project days for groups and that we make really good jam! Share our Facebook posts. Forward this newsletter to a friend. Getting our info out into the world helps.

• Give. ~ Your monetary donations stay right here in our community and help fund our work with our clients, with community groups that volunteer, with the young adult interns that devote summers (and vacation days) to working with us, as well as our produce donations to area food pantries. Every dollar makes a difference in so many ways! Additionally, if you shop on Amazon, you can support GG for free at the same time. Just use Amazon Smile, choose Goodness Grows as your charity of choice, then you get your items and we get 0.5% of the purchase price sent to us through this program. How easy and cool is that!?!?!

Goodness Grows is a faith-based 501(c)3 non-profit operating out of Common Ground Church Community. Our mission is to cultivate personal, social, and community growth through gardening, education, and opportunity for people of all abilities. We are working to improve people's lives through social and therapeutic gardening practices. We'd love for you to join us!

Create. Cultivate. Thrive.

Email: jlynch02@gmail.com
Website: https://www.goodnessgrows4all.org/
Location: 2310 W. South Range Rd., North Lima, OH 44452
Phone: 330-549-9408
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodnessGrows4all