JAMES CITY-Grove Christian Outreach Center has been ministering to the physical and spiritual needs of financially-struggling and disadvantaged residents of the Grove community for the past 22 years. Last year, the nonprofit organization served hundreds of families and thousands of individuals through its outreach programs.
Mariah Alling, community engagement coordinator with Grove Christian Outreach Center, said that while some residents engage in more than one of the programs offered, there had been a total of 19,264 visits to the outreach center in 2021.
“The people we serve in the community are residents of Grove, which is a territory located off of Route 60 between Lee Hall and Busch Gardens,” said Alling. The community engagement coordinator grew up in the Lee Hall area of the Peninsula and said she finds satisfaction in helping the residents of her community.
The outreach center provides food, clothing, and financial assistance to Grove residents free of charge. Fresh food is available for clients to select in the center’s lobby, and dry goods are provided based on client choice. While visitors are able to obtain fresh produce, dairy products, and bread items on a weekly basis through the center’s food pantry, an onsite hygiene closet is also available for necessities such as baby and adult diapers, bedliners, feminine products, soaps, detergents, and more.
The organization’s clothing closet ministry offers attire choices for children and adults. Alling said the organization hosts a family-fun carnival for their back-to-school program and assists children with obtaining needed supplies for the upcoming school year.
“We hold what is essentially a huge family-fun carnival for school children to come to the outreach center to get new backpacks full of school supplies and a new pair of shoes,” said Alling.
The outreach center is physically located across the street from James River Elementary School, which requires their students to wear school uniforms.
“When we have new kids move into the Grove area, we want to make sure that every child is prepared for school, so we also carry local schools’ uniforms,” said Alling. Once the school year has begun, students are welcome to come back and shop at the clothing closet once a month to replenish needed items.
Alling said the center also offers small kitchen appliances, bedding, and baby gear.
“While we don’t have the capacity to take in large furniture pieces, we do have a needs list, where donors will coordinate with residents to arrange a quick and safe pickup from the donor’s home,” said Alling.
To assist with transportation needs, the center offers its clients WATA bus vouchers on a quarterly basis and looks forward to restarting a bike ministry right around the corner.
“We are excited to be partnering with the Bicycle Co-Op of Williamsburg,” said Alling. “They’re having their grand opening this Friday, April 1, at noon.” The co-op’s volunteers refurbish donated bikes to provide recipients with reliable and safe transportation.
Grove Christian Outreach Center is run by five staff members and more than 50 employees. Those who are interested in lending a hand are encouraged to express their interest, as the center is always looking for volunteers to add to their roster.
“While some of our volunteers have been here since the center opened 22 years ago, we’re always taking in new volunteers,” said Alling.
The center is currently assisting Grove high school seniors with acquiring formalwear for prom night and is on the hunt for formal dresses, clutch purses, jewelry, suits, ties, and shoes to add to its collection.
“After an orientation process, volunteers can specify which day or days of the week they’d like to come into the outreach center and work in whatever ministry they’d like to, whether it be food recovery, the food pantry itself, or the clothing closet,” said Alling.
In addition to donations and helpful volunteers, the center also receives backing from numerous like-minded community organizations and businesses in the area such as Literacy for Life, Williamsburg Regional Library, Williamsburg James City County Public Schools, and Heritage Humane Society in addition to others.
To apply for services, Grove residents are asked to furnish the outreach center with a post-marked utility bill or housing statement. Grove Christian Outreach Center is located at 8800 Pocahontas Trail in James City County.
Hours of operation are 9am to 4:30pm on Monday, 1pm to 6pm on Tuesday, 9am to 4:30pm on Wednesday, and 8:30am to 3:30pm on Friday. Clients are invited to the food pantry on Monday, Tuesday and Friday, while Wednesday is dedicated to clothing-closet visitors by appointment; however, clients are able to visit the clothing closet on a first-come, first-served basis on Monday and Friday as well.
For more information, call 757-887-1100 or visit their website or Facebook page.