We are so excited for this year's Fun Fest! So many awesome local organizations are involved! The Youngstown Phantoms Hockey Team is bringing their mascot for part of the Fest and their slap shot inflatable for the entire afternoon. Kids, come try to shoot a puck! Angels for Animals will be here with friendly dogs and F5RS (Frisky Ferrets, Fuzzies, & Feathered Friends Rescue & Sanctuary) will have Bunnies in Baskets! Our good friend Peg from the Green Team will join us with an activity/craft. There will be a roving magic show from Devin Knight. Funky Punky Cotton Candy is providing free cotton candy samples...while supplies last. Plus, we will have games, face painting, crafts, and more all for free. Tickets (which cost $1.00) will be required for purchasing hot dogs and chips, popcorn, as well as participating in our ever popular Bake Walk!

Come on out to have fun and support the work of Goodness Grows!

You probably know that we are located inside Common Ground Church Community in North Lima. (In the old Mellinger's Nursery.) Every year, Common Ground has a Vacation Bible School and we take some time to help! This year, it is being held July 9-13 from 10:00am to 12:30pm. The theme is Abundance Orchard, which is a curriculum provided by the Society of St. Andrew. "For the past 35 years, since 1983, the Society of St. Andrew has salvaged fresh, nutritious produce from American farms – produce that otherwise would be left to rot – and delivered it to agencies across the nation that serve the poor." Through storytelling, games, music, and crafts, the participants will be immersed in this hunger-action themed program. Each day, an offering will be taken during our Opening time. All monies collected will be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley. To learn more about all the good done by the Society of St. Andrew and Second Harvest Food Bank, follow the links below. To attend this VBS program, call 330-549-9408 or email commonground.secretary@gmail.com. Kids ages 4 and up are welcome! VBS is free and snack is provided.

A great big thank you to all who were able to take time on Saturday to volunteer at Goodness Grows. We could not have raised our shade cloth without YOU! Now our berries and people are protected and the greenhouse area looks much nicer.

Austintown Farmers Market ~ Monday evenings from 5 - 8, at Austintown Township Park ~ Come enjoy this spectacular community of vendors, makers, farmers, and more!

Salem Farmer's Market ~ We will be at this local market on some Thursdays, from 3:30-6:30, at 788 E State St.

Youngstown Flea ~ Come experience the Flea! July 14/Aug 18/Sept 8 from 10:00 - 4:00

Columbiana 1st Friday ~ Rain or shine 5pm - 8pm, the first Friday of July & August

Mission Night Market ~ July 13/Aug 10/Sept 14 from 6 to 10 at Huntington Place plaza in Boardman

Maize Valley Winery Sunflower Festival ~ Sept 8 from 10:00 - 4:00

Whispering Pines Village ~ Every other Thursday we will be volunteering & visiting.

New markets and events may be added. Check our Facebook page to stay up-to-date!

This year has brought a new adventure to Goodness Grows - volunteering at Whispering Pines Village Assisted Living Community. We have been involved in two special events so far, and now we are volunteering every other week - weeding, planting, and visiting with residents. We wanted to offer a big thank you to our friend, Kelly Ryan, for giving us this opportunity. Allowing our clients to get out in the community and volunteer their time to give back and help others is so important. Everyone has had a blast so far and we look forward to a long relationship with Kelly, the residents, and the rest of the amazing staff!

We are in a whirlwind of jam production right now. Strawberry season brought some of our seasonal favorites - Strawberry Jalapeno Jungle Jam and Strawberry Lemonade Juicy Jam. Soon, we will jump into blueberry and raspberry season and more of our favorite summer treats! If you cannot get to a market for jam, give us a call or an email and we will gladly arrange a pick-up or delivery.

Another terrific thing about summertime at Goodness Grows is all the fabulous people we get to meet! Though our partnership with Canfield Presbyterian, and also through word of mouth, we are so lucky we get to host groups of young people and their chaperones. They come here with their boundless energy and hearts for service and we are blessed by all their hard work. Our first group of Summer 2018 is actually here as this is being typed. Today we welcomed Grace Presbyterian Church from Jenkintown, PA. This friendly group jumped right in to weeding, construction on the greenhouse, working in our butterfly garden, and any other task they could find. We appreciate them and look forward to working with more groups as the summer progresses! If you are interested in a mission trip to Goodness Grows, or to the Youngstown area in general, contact us (info at the end of this newsletter) or contact Rachel at Canfield Presbyterian by calling 330-533-5509 or emailing summermission@canfieldpresbyterian.org. Learn more by following the link below to our website.

If you signed up for our Produce Subscription Program, thank you and we will see you between 4-7pm this Thursday, June 28, for the first of fourteen CSA days! Our clients and staff have been hard at work planting and tending a variety of crops for you to enjoy this season. This year we even have a new system for growing lettuce and you will be the first group to get to try it! We hope you will enjoy all the produce, herbs, and other value-added items that we have planned. We are pretty excited to get this CSA season started!

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 would love for you to join us!

Create. Cultivate. Thrive.

Email: kitty@goodnessgrows4all.org
Website: www.goodnessgrows4all.org/
Location: 2310 West South Range Road, North Lima, OH, USA
Phone: 330-549-9408
Facebook: facebook.com/GoodnessGrows4all/
Twitter: @GGrows