Community Outreach

Like to paint, hammer, or install flooring?   Have limited skills and want to learn more by helping others? Come join the Grove Good Works team on the 2nd Saturday of each month to help repair the homes of families in need in Chester County. Working with the Christian non-profit organization, Good Works Inc., we strive to improve living conditions for qualified low-income homeowners by making their homes warmer, safer and drier.

Don’t worry if you think you don’t have the right skills. Willing hands and an open heart are all you need. Everyone learns by working side by side with our more experienced volunteers and with coaching from our Technical Adviser.  New volunteers are always welcome, and the team enjoys working with them, helping them acquire new skills and learning from them as well!

The work is interesting and fun, and it’s incredibly satisfying to build the relationship with the homeowner and to see their happiness and gratitude as the work progresses. But best of all, we’re helping to transform lives by sharing the hope found in Jesus Christ.

If this has caught your attention, please reach out to Betty at Goodworks@GroveChurch.org and join us as you can!

The Free Little Pantry and Library is located in the church parking lot. People in our community who are in need of food and personal care items can stop by 24 hours a day to take what they need. Books are available for both children and adults. Anyone is welcome to donate to the pantry. Books are donated by the community and the Laundromat Library League.  Donations of non-perishable foods in the unopened, original packaging as well as small toiletries are welcome. No glass, expired items or medications please.

Join our Facebook group Free Little Pantry and Library for regular updates about when and which items are needed.

Contact Lilian Rubin at missionandoutreach@grovechurch.org for more information.

Adopt-A-Highway:

Making maximum impact with a minimum of commitment. 

Help clean up Grove and Whitford Roads for neighbors and commuters while enjoying a beautiful walk.

• A couple of hours on a Saturday morning picking up trash keeps the trash out of the streams and wildlife habitats.
• Scheduled three times a year.
• Adults, and youth in middle school or older (accompanied by a parent or guardian) are welcome to participate.
• New volunteers are paired with experienced workers and safety is a high priority.

Reach out to Susan at  missionandoutreach@grovechurch.orgto get more information and give it a try!

Community Youth and Women’s Alliance (CYWA): Putting faith into action and food into people’s hands.  

The CYWA Food Pantry distributes food every week to the Coatesville community.

• Wednesdays, Thursdays:
  • Food unloading 8 am to noon
  • Registration and shopping Noon to 2:00 pm
• Sign up for the day(s) and times that work for you.

Volunteers are needed for the following:

• Help clients complete the annual registration form (on paper) or check in using a CYWA iPad, offering a warm welcome to all.
• Help unload food into the building and set it on tables for clients to come and shop for their families.

There is always a need for more helping hands at CYWA.   Reach out to Susan at CYWA@GroveChurch.org for more information.

As Christians, we are called to be involved in prison ministry, as in Matthew 25:36c (NRSV) “I was in prison and you visited me”, or Hebrews 13:3a (NRSV) “Remember those in prison as though you were in prison with them.”

At Grove Church there are a variety of ways we happily do this, allowing everyone to be involved in some form of this ministry, for example: 

Christmas cards for inmates:  Individuals write encouraging notes on Christmas cards, which are delivered by facility chaplains, letting those who are incarcerated know that someone “on the outside” is caring about them.

Pillow Projects: Congregants work alongside women residents at the Chester County Correctional Center to prepare no-sew, heart shaped pillows.  Our youth then deliver them to local nursing home residents.  This project allows us to understand and change our often-unrecognized preconceptions of people who are incarcerated.  It provides an opportunity for those incarcerated to reach out and care for others.

Christmas gifts for children of incarcerated parents: Christmas gifts for assigned children are purchased by congregants and distributed by correctional department staff.

Healing Communities Training: Congregants learn how to become more welcoming and supportive of those impacted by the criminal justice system.

Prison Ministry Book Study:  Congregants read and meet to discuss books providing additional information regarding prison ministry and restorative justice.

Additional Opportunities:

• Support inmates, their families, victims and staff of correctional facilities
• Prevention
• Advocacy
• Continued education of ourselves and others

Deacon Marilyn Schneider would be happy to address any questions you may have; as well as discuss with you how you might be able to become involved in this ministry.  Please reach out to her at DeaconMarilyn@GroveChurch.org with any questions you may have.

You can also learn more by visiting the Eastern Pa Conference Prison Ministry page.

Get involved in promoting early literacy and give moms and dads a break while doing their laundry.   

Partner with your family, your school, your other groups and collect books or do a fundraiser for the Laundromat Library League (LLL).  

The local LLL makes children’s books available at no charge in laundromats in PA, but also in many other states.   Various service groups, churches and individuals work voluntarily to create and maintain free children’s books in laundromats in the Philadelphia area. New laundromats are added regularly and helpers who donate, sort, and deliver books are always needed. 

Children are encouraged to use the books while with their parents at the laundromat, as well as take them home with them.   Books are provided in both English and Spanish languages.

Over 122,200 books have been donated through the local LLL since it started in 2014 of which ~ 16,000 have been during the pandemic!   

This is an Outreach opportunity that can be individualized as you see fit, give it some thought!  

Send an email to Donna at LLL@GroveChurch.org to find out how the local LLL group is working; visit the local LLL Facebook page or the National LLL site to learn more!

Grove Youth Ministries (GYM) offers age-appropriate rotating service opportunities throughout the year. While the exact projects may change, the opportunities for youth to actively express their faith through love of neighbor is consistent. No specific skill sets are needed as youth will be trained as needed.
In previous years youth have:

• Cleaned and stocked apartments for families experiencing homelessness.
• Prepared meals for young mothers.
• Built shelves to house baby supplies.
• Delivered pillows and cards created by teams of congregants and inmates to senior living facilities.
• Organized inspirational snack bags and Biblical bookmarks for youth in the juvenile justice system and youth escaping domestic violence.
• Prepared care packages for college students.
• Packed hygiene, layette, and school kits for distribution by the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

More information about Youth Ministries at Grove

Youth are also invited and encouraged to participate in the outreach and mission opportunities offered to the church at large.