The Grove Parc Soup Lunch and Bake Sale raised $546. This money will help keep the Circle of Love Drop-In Center afloat while Grove Parc continues its search for more permanent funding sources.

In late October, Cindy Carroll and Karen Coleman, Grove Parc Residents Initiative Program Director, met with a representative of the Kaplan Family Foundation to discuss Grove Parc’s application for a $20,000 grant. Cindy reports that the Kaplan representative seemed to have a positive attitude, and the Kaplan Board will report its decision sometime in December.

Cindy and I met with Interim Co-Minister Dennis Daniel on October 26 to familiarize him with the Grove Parc Project. He suggested we find more activities to bring congregation members in direct contact with Grove Parc residents.

Two possibilities he mentioned were monthly end-of-the-month spaghetti dinners, which church members would help prepare and bring to Grove Parc or organizing field trips to various Chicago area sites of interest for Grove Parc kids.

Cindy tells me the month-end dinners will begin after the New Year. In addition, the Secret Santa program that was so successful last year will be done again this year. Plan to bring presents.

Dennis suggested that instead of operating a permanent thrift shop in the church basement to raise funds for Grove Parc, that we have occasional rummage sales in the Garden Room, where we can also sell food, as well as clothing and other typical rummage sale items.

Cindy and I will meet soon to work out the details of these ideas—and any others that come to mind. If you would like to be in on such a planning session, call me at 947-0475.