ICCF helps first-time home buyers
Published in the Grand Rapids Press
May 15, 2010 - Cami Reister

WYOMING -- Ann Smith stood on the deck of her future "dream home" and pointed out where she will plant her garden, a few flowers and some day install a garage.

It's not the four bedrooms, kitchen tile or the big back yard that make it her dream. It's the fact Smith, 38, is a first-time buyer with a fat down payment and the education needed to manage her budget and maintain a house.

She got to that point through programs that matched her down payment and gave her training in financing and home ownership at the Inner City Christian Federation.

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Fiber art exhibit in Grand Rapids shows off talent, explores cultures
Published in the Grand Rapids Press
February 28, 2010 - Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood

When the ladies in the Woodland Weavers and Spinners Guild gave me a heads up about a local fiber art exhibit, I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed.

But, wow, was I unprepared for the intoxicating, visual feast that greeted me inside the stately Inner City Christian Federation (ICCF) Blodgett Building at 920 Cherry St., SE, in Grand Rapids.

While the renovated building that once served as an orphanage is impressive on its own, the fiber art adorning the walls inside is a must-see. The 75-piece collection on loan from Roberta Green Ahmanson, a Calvin College graduate now residing in California, is the most diverse fiber art exhibit I’ve seen locally. And here’s the kicker: It’s free.

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Profile: President, CEO of the Inner City Christian Federation Jonathan Bradford
Published in the Grand Rapids Press
DECEMBER 20, 2009 - By Terri Finch Hamilton

Hanging in Jonathan Bradford’s office is a sign that reads “shalom.”

“Others translate it simply as peace,” he says. “But that’s not all it means. It means wholeness, fullness, the ability to use one’s gifts without impediment, where you’re flourishing and happy all the time.”

If this guy tells you “shalom,” you’ve got some work to do.

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Grand Rapids Conference explores ways the church can respond to housing crisis, other issues
Published in the Grand Rapids Press
MAY 02, 2009

Jesus probably would respond to predatory mortgage lenders the same way he dealt with the "rip-off money changers" in the Temple in Jerusalem -- by throwing them out, Jonathan Bradford says.

"There is no end to the inhumanity we can dish out to our neighbors," said Bradford, president and executive director of the nonprofit housing corporation Inner City Christian Federation.

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