Grace Centers of Hope's Picking up Pontiac event returns June 7-10

PONTIAC, Mich. — After a successful debut in 2022 as a three-day event, Grace Centers of Hope is returning in 2023 for a second “Picking Up Pontiac” cleanup effort and is expanding to four days this year.

The Pontiac nonprofit — which for more than 80 years has offered life-saving programs that provide hope to those facing homelessness, addiction, abuse, poverty, and spiritual emptiness — will spend June 7 through June 10cleaning downtown Pontiac neighborhoods via landscaping, painting, trash removal and other beautification efforts.

They welcome community support for the event, which runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each of the four days.

“Throughout our history, Grace Centers of Hope has worked to clean up the lives of so many residents facing deep struggles with addiction, homelessness and other difficult circumstances. We’ve called Pontiac our home for decades, so it makes sense that we should do everything we can as an organization to keep Pontiac neighborhoods as beautiful and welcoming as possible,” said Pastor Kent Clark, CEO of Grace Centers of Hope and pastor at Grace Gospel Fellowship Church. “We welcome the community to help us as we work to clean up Pontiac and celebrate the incredible success we’ve had over the years improving the lives of the people we care for at Grace Centers and creating our own community in Pontiac.”

Picking Up Pontiac's four-day effort focuses on cleaning the following areas: Moreland Street, Stephens Court, Fairgrove Street, Lafayette Place Lofts and Seneca Street.

Volunteer shifts are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the itinerary for each day is:

· June 7 – Street cleanup and trash pickup on Moreland Street and Stephens Court, landscape work at homes in GCH’s Little Grace Village community (volunteers needed)

· June 8 – Landscape work at houses on Fairgrove Street, pulling weeds at GCH’s community garden, picking up trash on Fairgrove (volunteers needed)

· June 9 – Cleanup around the Lafayette Place Lofts, cleaning the streets in the downtown area, pulling weeds, spreading mulch, and trimming hedges (volunteers needed)

· June 10 – Weed removal from gardens on Seneca Street, trimming bushes, spreading mulch, and reshaping landscape beds. (volunteers needed)

Residents interested in volunteering can sign up at this link on the Grace Centers of Hope website: http://pup.gracecentersofhope.volunteerhub.com/

Some sponsors that have already joined this year’s efforts include Home Depot, Chase Bank, Stellantis, and Earthart. Pure Water is also sponsoring the water for the event. For other sponsorship opportunities, please contact Jager Carmos at jcarmos@gracecentersofhope.org.

Under Pastor Clark’s leadership, Grace Centers of Hope has assisted nearly 10,000 men, women, and children through addiction, homelessness, and abuse. Since its inception, the nonprofit is estimated to have helped approximately 20,000 people. As an organization, Grace Centers of Hope has purchased and renovated more than 50 homes in Pontiac. Of those, 31 are currently being lived in by Grace Centers of Hope graduates, in a community known as Little Grace Village. Eighty percent of the organization’s workforce are graduates from its programs.

Programs at Grace Centers of Hope include:

• One Year Life-Skills Program helps homeless men, women and families transition to stable housing and employment.
• Two Year After-Care Program is designed for Life-Skills program graduates and allows individuals to remain with GCH by living in a healthy and supportive community. Participants engage in weekly support groups, home ownership workshops and financial counseling.
• Children’s Program was created to work with at-risk children who have suffered trauma or developmental deficits because of homelessness. It gives local at-risk youth now have a safe space in which they can and will be nurtured and fed.
• Hands of Hope Childcare Center is a safe and nurturing environment for children whose families are in GCH’s Life-Skills and After-Care programs.
• Career and Education Center was designed as a state-of-the-art career and education center that enables GCH residents to learn to read, write and become competent in basic math. They also improve their skills to pass GED tests, build a resume, apply for jobs, and explore higher education opportunities.

Funding for Grace Centers of Hope is through volunteerism, financial support from the community, as well as sales from its four Thrift Stores. Pastor Clark rejected the idea of any government funding and instead focused on seeking the community's participation in raising funds and support needed to maintain the high-functioning non-profit.

About Grace Centers of Hope

Giving hope to the helpless since 1942, Grace Centers of Hope is considered one of the leading faith-based organizations in Southeastern Michigan, confronting daily the issues of homelessness, addiction, education, parenting, poverty, abuse, and spiritual emptiness. On any given night, Grace Centers of Hope provides transitional shelter to 125-175 men, women, and children, in addition to serving more than 125,000 meals each year. Grace’s $6.7 million yearly budget is maintained solely through corporate and private donors, exclusive of any government assistance. To learn more about Grace Centers of Hope or to make a donation, please visit www.gracecentersofhope.org.