Some time ago, Grace Episcopal made an important decision: to invest in programs that assist their community. One such program is called Resources for Women, a crisis pregnancy program. Resources for Women offers a mentoring program as well as support for mothers experiencing the challenge of an inconvenient pregnancy. For women in this situation, the church has found a way to help with monetary needs. Empty baby bottles, filled with loose change or other monetary donations, are given out on Mother’s Day with a request for them to be returned on Father’s Day. Last year Grace raised over $900 this way.

Chiles Academy is a teen-parent program sponsored by the Volusia County School District. The program derives its name from former Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles, who expressed strong support for teen parents during his time in office. Chiles Academy offers free child care while the mothers attend classes to complete their high school requirements. Pregnant teens are also included in the program. For many years, Grace has purchased unwrapped gifts for infants to 3-year-olds and delivered them to the program site on or around December 6, St. Nicholas Day. Throughout the school term teen parents have the opportunity to earn “Chiles Academy monies” and, later, use these funds to purchase some of the donated items as gifts for their child.

As part of its outreach involvement, Grace Episcopal intends to continue finding ways to partner with community programs.