This past week has been a busy prep week for the staff at Grapevine’s newest attraction. Chicken and Pickle opens to the public on January 17th and the unique, indoor/outdoor entertainment complex includes a casual, chef-driven restaurant and sports bar that boasts 12 pickle ball courts and a variety of yard games. On January 12th, GRACE had the amazing opportunity to be included in Chicken N Pickle’s Grapevine Chamber Ribbon Cutting and partnered with them to collect donations at the event. Chicken N Pickle feels it is their “Cultural imperative to our community is to give back, with many philanthropic events and service-oriented endeavors to strengthen our neighborhood and beyond”. They believe in building long-lasting solutions to address the needs of the communities in which we live, work and play. “Our mission is to provide an atmosphere that fosters fun, friendship, and community and we are excited to bring that

GRACE is honored to announce the continuation of a partnership that spans almost two decades with a recent grant award from the Carl B. and Florence E. King Foundation that will help support GRACE’s work with our clients who are 65 years old or better. GRACE’s priority for senior programming seeks to bridge the gap between isolation and aging as well as continue to provide support so that they can maintain an independent lifestyle for as long as possible. GRACE seeks to provide that safety net that many seniors in our community are lacking. Our dedicated volunteers step in to help with small projects around the house, landscaping needs, budgeting assistance, providing transportation, and making sure that the senior is aware of resources available to them including services through GRACE and government benefits. GRACE caseworkers have access to educational resources and will regularly meet with clients, specifically seniors, to advise

Jacob Daniel (Jake) Williamson, 4/8/97—1/2/23 What happens when a twenty-five-year-old dies? We celebrate the cheers and accolades he received in his youth. We marvel at the first missions and victories in his years leading to manhood. We admire his plans and aspirations as he came into his own. We believe he was as strong and as beautiful as he was ever going to be. We know—for some reason—the Lord needed him by His side and called him home. And we grieve over lost promise. All the things he would never do, see, and feel. Desires that would never be fulfilled. Prospects never realized. Wants never satisfied. Courage never shown. But in this we grieve not for Jake but for ourselves. We will never again be witness to Jake’s triumphs. We can never again delight in his smile, his sharp wit, his wise perceptions. We can only pray for solace and

With 2022 coming to a close and a new year upon us, the GRACE Community Gardens is back in action. This program produces healthy and organic foods that go right into the GRACE Food Pantry and is a wonderful place for you and your loved ones to volunteer. The mission of the GRACE Community Garden is to cultivate a healthy community by building collaborations and providing organically grown produce to those in need. The garden produces more than 1,500 pounds of produce each year, with most of the organically grown produce from the garden being donated to the GRACE Food Pantry. The Community Gardens have not only been a source of fresh produce for the community, but it has also served to be an educational resource to many. Volunteers, clients, and the community has a chance to plant, tend to the garden beds and organize the best-suited crops in a

Thank you GRACE Volunteers for your amazing support in 2022! This week, after serving over 875 households, it was time to close the chapter to the 2022 GRACE Christmas Cottage and prepare for the year 2023. However, before we could do that, we needed to store all of our donations, tables, chairs, decorations, and other Christmas Cottage items back into our Storage at Frost Bank. Along with our Christmas Cottage Elves, NCL-Southlake, LDS, YMSL, SASO Inc., and Southlake Carroll Wrestling team (who brought in an astonishing 50-plus volunteers), all participated in GRACE’s Christmas Cottage move-out day. “I have done many projects with teenagers over the years in Southlake as well as with my work at GRACE”, said longtime GRACE volunteer, Lynda Warner. “However, I have never dealt with such an amazing group of young adults. They were always on task, and took initiative, which made this project go very smoothly.”

GRACE’s top-notch event is BACK and ready to raise funds for our life-changing programs! The tables have been brushed and polished. The chips have been oiled and racked. The seals on the decks yearn to be broken. Join us on Saturday, February 4th at 5:30 p.m. for cocktails and tournament starts at 7:00 p.m. This year’s event will be hosted yet again at Park Place Jaguar Land Rover DFW. Come and try Chef Ted’s exceptional food prepared by Scratch Catering & Fine Foods and extraordinary wine will be provided by Classic Wine and Storage. Never to be upstaged by grapes, Hop & Sting will be providing their spectacular craft brews as well. GRACE would also like to thank our returning Ace of Spades Title Sponsor, Wright Construction Company. Also joining us this year as a Queen of Diamonds Sponsor, please welcome Alford Media! Thank you both for helping GRACE host

After the busy holiday season, our Food Pantry inventory is low or out of many items, and we need your help! Providing good wholesome food could be the most basic and most important service we offer our clients. Our Food Pantry serves as a grocery store and community hub for hundreds and hundreds of our clients. When our community members need food or other goods, they know that they can rely on the friendly faces of the hard working GRACE Pantry staff and volunteers. That’s why keeping the Pantry stocked with only the finest goods is crucial. Your contributions to our shelves and refrigerators directly impact families in our community so please, view our most current Pantry Needs List here and make an impact today.

With the new year just around the corner, we want to take this opportunity to thank EVERYONE who has helped us make the GRACE Christmas Cottage possible. From our core group of volunteers, a.k.a. the elves, to all volunteers and donors who give and organize donations to welcome and bless the families we serve. We simply couldn’t do it without you. And, of course, to our staff who manages the cottage, organizes the sign-ups for volunteers, and the multitude of staff who come alongside this program to organize the Open House and who just fill in when needed. Thank you one and all! Many people don’t know how families are made eligible for the Christmas Cottage. It starts right when we are blessed with a location to house this program. Our Client Services staff made up of a CS Manager, four case workers and two administrative support team members interview

Last week GRACE hosted its annual Christmas Holiday Food Distribution which gave holiday meals to over 400 families in the community. This special event is designed to give families a holiday meal that is specifically donated by individuals, businesses, and churches in the local community. The Holiday food box included a box of canned goods, eggs, butter, milk, cheese, a choice of either ham or turkey, and other delicious foods and desserts that make the holiday season special. GRACE Clients are encouraged to take part in this by speaking with one of GRACE’s wonderful caseworkers, where they will receive a voucher and more information about this annual event. As the week progressed, however, DFW was amongst many communities in Texas that were hit with below-freezing temperatures. This caused many individuals and GRACE to change their game plan for the GRACE Holiday Food distribution. With the help of some heaters, gloves, hot

Due to the holidays, GRACE locations will be operating under adjusted hours. If you have an emergency that cannot wait until normal operating hours, please contact Client Services at 817-602-1204. Warm wishes and happy holidays from the GRACE Family to yours! GRACEful Buys Grapevine and Euless: December 23: 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Christmas Eve: CLOSED Christmas Day: CLOSED New Years Day: CLOSED   Programs, Development, and Administrative Offices: December 23: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. December 26: CLOSED December 27: CLOSED December 30: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. January 2: CLOSED   Donation Station: Christmas Eve: CLOSED Christmas Day: CLOSED December 31: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. New Year’s Day: CLOSED