Goodness Grows News

Newsletter #40

August brings the beginning of back to school time...even in 2020! This week we say goodbye to Darius, as he returns to college for his Sophomore year. Next week is Cameron's last week, as he prepares for his Freshman year of college. We feel so lucky that we were able to spend another summer with these fantastic young men! We appreciate their willingness to work hard and
complete any task asked of them while modeling kindness and good humor. They both have
huge hearts and we are tremendously glad to have them as part of the Goodness Grows family.
Good luck, Darius and Cam! We wish you a wonderful school year!

Our GG family has expanded with our new intern, Jade Rector. Jade joined us several weeks ago and she certainly fit right in! Jade is from Salem, graduated from high school this spring, and has completed training from DODD. She is ready and able to be Rachel's right-hand girl! Jade enjoys both working with people, having volunteered in the special education classrooms while in school, and with animals, having been an Angels for Animals volunteer. She has already made a good impression on our clients and has built a rapport with all of them. We are so glad to have her on our team!

In mid-July, we had our first cook-out of the summer. Sue Weaver came to volunteer, Kitty stopped
by for lunch, and we all enjoyed a summer spread with veggies, fruit, and grilled goodies. It was a
treat for everyone, especially since we have not been cooking at GG over the last number of
months. We followed all the safety and health guidelines and had a successful and happy day.
Thanks for helping, Mrs. Weaver!!

August 15, 9am-3pm

Downtown next to the Covelli Centre.

Free admission & free onsite parking.

Come enjoy fun music, free yoga, food trucks, art/artists, antiques and repurposed furniture, vintage clothing & collectibles, jewelry, candles, reclaimed metals/wood, apparel, specialty drink vendors, farmers market & produce and more. (And Jungle Jam & Juicy Jam!)

Upcoming 2020 Dates: Aug. 15 / Sept. 12 / Oct. 3

Visit http://youngstownflea.com/shopsafe

It is with great sadness that we must announce that we will not be hosting the Big Tap In Festival on August 29, 2020 due to Covid-19. We feel as though this is the right decision based on the rapid spread of this pandemic in Ohio.

You will receive a refund for any ticket and/or merchandise that you purchased on Eventbrite. We will start the refund process next week.

If you choose to donate your ticket/merchandise fee, all or in part, to the benefiting non-profit, Project MKC, please send a separate email to TheBigTapIn@yahoo.com expressing your interest to do so. All donations are very much needed and will be GREATLY appreciated.

Stay safe.

Sincerely,

Big Tap In Organizers and Project MKC"

This is one of our favorite times of the year. We have been enthusiastically hunting caterpillars and bringing them in to our butterfly houses. Each summer and fall, we take time to watch their incredible life cycle. Our crew is always checking to see how close we are to having a chrysalis split open and a beautiful butterfly emerge. Butterfly release days are full of excitement.

We are working very hard to keep our crew and our facility as safe and healthy as possible in this pandemic situation that none of us has ever had to navigate before. Our staff and clients are doing an awesome job following the Governor's mandates and safety rules! None of this is fun or easy for anyone, but we are so incredibly proud of our GG family and the steps they are taking to protect each other! In this "new normal," masks...6 feet apart...temperature check...hand washing...have all become our watchwords. We have done things like spreading the lunch tables out to keep everyone distanced while eating. Our clients didn't miss a beat with that, rolling with the new seating arrangements and soldiering on! They also wait patiently each morning to have their temperature taken, without even being reminded. Additionally, our folks are taking care of the health of the people who attend church here on Sundays, as they clean and disinfect everywhere and wear face coverings to hamper the spread of respiratory droplets/germs. We are also so appreciative of all our CSA subscribers and jam buyers who come in wearing a face covering and practicing social distancing, too. You guys rock!!!

Thank you to everyone in our wide Goodness Grows family for your understanding and cooperation at this difficult time. By cooperating and taking care of each other, we will get through this together!

The 2020 growing season has been a tremendous one so far! Ever so much better than 2019 and we are unimaginably grateful for that. The crops have been growing well, our harvests have been full, and there have been very few problems. (There was that massacre of our sweet corn crop due to a band of cute and fuzzy masked raiders, but we won't talk about that!) Thursdays have become the highlight of the week as we see all the bounty to be harvested. Now we just hope that the good growing conditions take us right through September and the produce eating critters leave our gardens alone. Keep your fingers crossed!

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: www.goodnessgrows4all.org/
Location: 2310 W. South Range Rd. North Lima, OH 44452
Phone: 330-549-9408
Facebook: facebook.com/GoodnessGrows4all/
Twitter: @GGrows