Canton for All People

06/23/2026

From a church to a preschool - Gibbs Avenue Center's renovations are nearing completion.

A vacant church since the Canton Calvary Mission closed is being repurposed as a childcare center and community hub. See link below ⬇️

📸 Abreanna Blose/Canton Repository

06/17/2026

🏡 Viola is Canton For All People's newest first-time homeowner.

"The house was meant for me," she said. "I got it built from the ground up and this is my forever home and I love it."

Viola plans to pass it down to her children someday.

Congratulations to Viola and this legacy she's leaving her family.

If you're interested in purchasing a home through Canton For All People, reach out to Traci or Jada at (234) 360-3042.

06/16/2026

Our current homes for sale are posted on our website at https://cantonforallpeople.org/homeownership/

If you're interested in purchasing a home through Canton For All People, reach out to Traci or Jada at (234) 360-4042.

06/15/2026

‼️ REMINDER ‼️

💻 There will be no Facebook Live today or the following Monday, June 29th. Facebook Live resume Monday, July 6th at 10:30 a.m.

🍉 Just a reminder, we are closed on June 19th, which includes the Shorb Market. The market is also closed the week of June 29th and will reopen Tuesday, July 7th.

06/12/2026

Today, we are celebrating Canton For All People’s newest cohort of leaders who graduated from the Neighborhood Leadership Academy. Over the spring semester, participants tapped into their strengths and sharpened their weaknesses by working together on a capstone project, which they presented as a unified team at the commissioning ceremony last evening.

The ceremony is more than just a graduation of finishing a program, Gino Haynes said, the deputy director for Canton For All People and facilitator of the Neighborhood Leadership Academy. We’re sending them out into the community saying “you came here, you got some new tools in your toolbelt that you can leverage for your good and leverage for impact in your own context. Go and be those people, be the best leader that you can be.”

Those in attendance included former students from previous cohorts such as Amber Robinson, who Gino announced will be taking over as the new facilitator of the Neighborhood Leadership Academy.

“She’s just a natural leader,” Gino said.

Panther Spurlin, among other graduates from last evening, said she feels more equipped with her day-to-day work as a leader since going through the program.

“I have learned so much about myself and it’s allowed me to really be comfortable in the leadership role and just everything that I have, not feeling like I have imposter syndrome,” she said.

Neighborhood Leadership Academy is designed to bring in front porch leaders and give them opportunities to grow as a leader in their own space while impacting their community.

We can’t wait to see what these leaders do next!

06/10/2026

Sommers Discount Market had its second annually Around the World festival last week. Dozens of residents who live in the southeast Canton neighborhood brought their families to enjoy hot dogs right off the grill, popcorn, ice cream, a petting zoo and a bounce house. The City of Canton Police Department gave out snow cones. The City of Canton Fire Department passed out fire hats to kids.

Owner of the market Roland Sommers said about 300 people came out for the community event last year.

“It’s fun to bring the police here and have everybody here and show the community we care,” Sommers said.

Toya, a Canton resident, brought her kids to meet new friends.

“Kids get to interact with one another,” she said. “You never know, some people are single moms or single fathers and for your kids to come out and meet other kids is actually fun.”

Before the market opened in 2024, Canton’s southeast community went without a grocery store for 50 years. With the help of the City of Canton and several philanthropic partners, Canton For All People recognized the opportunity to build community by opening a neighborhood grocery store with healthy offerings where residents didn’t have to travel far.

06/09/2026

Darrell has lived in his southeast Canton home his entire life. It was where he grew up with his parents and siblings until he became the homeowner of his beloved family home in 1998.

Throughout his childhood, he spent time with his neighbors when he delivered the Canton Repository to their house.

“All of those individuals who lived in the neighborhood, when I was a child asked me as a paperboy to take care of the neighborhood,” he said.

It was up to me “to keep my neighborhood healthy and looking like it was a neighborhood,” he added.

So, when he learned about the Homeowner Improvement Program through Canton For All People, going through the application process to receive a new roof for his house and garage and new gutters was his way of continuing the legacy the previous generation asked of him.

Just like Darrell, qualified homeowners living in the City of Canton can receive up to $15,000 for exterior repairs to their home through a $1.5 million Affordable Housing Program award from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati.

Darrell is the first to receive repairs to his home, but he won’t be the last. If you’re interested in applying for the program, you can find more information here - https://cantonforallpeople.org/homeowner-repairs/

06/08/2026

06/05/2026

🏠 Join us on Monday, June 8th for our pop-up open house from 3-5 p.m. at one of our renovated homes located at 416 Brown Ave. NW, Canton OH 44703.

House details - $1,952 Sq Ft., 4 Beds, 2 baths, large living and dining room, updated kitchen, whirlpool bath tub. Price is $130,000.

RSVP to Jada at [email protected]. Walk-Ins are also welcome.

06/05/2026

Here's a recap of our week:

🍍 Shorb Market + Connection Center
🌱 Fresh grass at two of our new homeowners houses
⚒️ Construction on new builds + new design
💐 Neighborhood beautification projects
📸 Neighborhood Photo Project