Volunteers have a special place in the hearts of many in the community. They are willing to give back their time and energy by serving in many different aspects. Whether sorting through donations or visiting our clients, GRACE volunteers deserve to be recognized for all of their hard work. April 17th- April 23rd is National Volunteer Appreciation Week. Organizations across many communities will be celebrating volunteers during this heartwarming week. National Volunteer Appreciation Week was established in 1974 and has grown to be worldwide that thanks volunteers for lending their time, gifts, and voice to support a cause they care about. GRACE’s Volunteer Appreciation Event was virtual last year, however this year we are back in person and we want to continue the tradition of making our volunteers feel special. Every day of that week we will celebrate volunteers with appreciation events at each of the GRACE volunteer sites. Volunteers

With months of planning and preparation, this weeks’ Feed Our Kids- Spring Break has come and gone and we must say it was a huge success. The GRACE Feed Our Kids is a summer lunch program that provides lunches for children at designated sites close to where they live. Most of the children qualify for reduced or free lunches during the school year. Lunches are provided throughout the summer and are made and served by various groups in the community. This year for spring break, Feed Our Kids served an average of 30 lunches a day across 2 sites, distributing 409 lunches to kids in the community. Volunteers from First Baptist Church Grapevine and First United Methodist Church have been working endlessly to make this an awesome week for the children in the community. “What an exciting and wonderful week for Feed Our Kids” said Beth. “We served our neighborhood

Sometimes the smallest gestures can make the biggest impact, and that is exactly what volunteer Janie Stewart and her husband Kenneth are all about. When GRACE moved into its new facility on Walnut Street about three years ago, a group of volunteers were gracious enough to plant a small tree outside of the Food Pantry. They named it the GRACE Tree, symbolizing that hope and self-sufficiency may come over every staff, client, volunteer, donor and anyone who enters the doors of GRACE. Five years after being planted, the GRACE Tree is still in very good shape due to the hard work and dedication of Janie and Kenneth. The Stewarts comes out to volunteer at the GRACE Food Pantry every Wednesday to water it, clean up around it and make sure the soil growing around it is healthy for the tree. Pantry Manager, Marcus Miranda, says that “You can feel the

After 25 years of fashion, the 2022 NCL Fashion Show & Benefit continues to impress the community with style, philanthropy and of course fashion. This year, the Fashion Show focused on 25 years of NCL Southlake and how it has grown to become the amazing organization that it is today. The NCL Southlake chapter is a group of mothers and daughters who have come together to participate in community service activities, leadership development and cultural experiences. Members of NCL Southlake reside in the city of Southlake or attend Carroll ISD schools. Like all NCL Inc. Chapters, Southlake aims to foster the mother-daughter relationship by serving its communities together. Television personality Melissa Rycroft and Carrol middle school theatre arts teacher, Chad McCoy, were the emcees this year. Both emcees carried the event along very well with their dazzling personalities and witty humor. There was also an element of nostalgia as they

It seems no one has made it out of the indecisive weather patterns unaffected over the past few months. Quite frankly, it’s given us all a bit of whiplash, and more commonly- unforgiving allergies. This, combined with a number of other health threats, have quickly emptied the medicine inventory at the GRACE Community Clinic. Over-the-counter meds have been flying off the shelves faster than we can stock them, and the need for help was becoming more and more clear. As if on queue, God delivered. At the request of their senior pastor, Greg Beutel, Light of the World Church members brought a variety of medications from the GRACE needs list in place of a present. Greg was celebrating his 50th birthday, and chose to donate to our clinic instead of making a wish list of his own. To Greg and all the church members who participated, know that you have

Taste of Southlake was loads of fun, topped with music, socializing, and food for the entire family to enjoy. This event not only saved many dinner plans for families but it also served as the completion of Leadership Southlake’s group project that impacts some part of the Southlake community.  The goal of this delicious event is to give back and bring awareness to local restaurants by allowing them to show off what they do best. Hosted by the Cambria Hotel, along with many different food options, this event was sure to be a promising one. GRACE’s very own Transitional Housing manager, Martisha Smith and Seasonal programs manager, Beth Chernik, are a part of the Leadership Southlake 2021-2022 class, and have expressed how close their bond has become since collaborating on this exciting project. “The opportunity for us to work together along with fifteen others is priceless” said Beth. “It allows

What do you get when you LOVE pizza and LOVE GRACE Grapevine?  A Wise Guys Pizzeria Grapevine Specialty Pizza! Wise Guys Pizzeria co-founder, Kevin McNamara, has a huge heart for the GRACE mission, and happens to be a pizza genius. He decided to combine these two passions by creating and offering a GRACE Pizza on his menu with proceeds going to our life-changing Programs! A few lucky GRACE staff members were treated to a pizza creating and taste-testing several weeks ago where the pizza masters prepared a variety of pizzas suggested by our entire staff. Fortunately, they brought a few pies back to share at the office. Interestingly, the cinnamon dessert pie smothered in glazed deliciousness did not make it back to the office… Needless to say, the pizzas were out-of-this-world good! But only one pizza could claim the spot on Wise Guys’ menu as The GRACE Pizza. Following some difficult

The GRACE Transitional Housing program is designed to help our clients reach full self-sufficiency by providing assistance to reach education, career and financial goals while living in housing. One thing about our housing is that the unit comes fully furnished provided by many of the donations that the community gives. Last week, a new client was welcomed into the GRACE Transitional Housing program, and immediately the client loved their new home, because of the warm feeling that the GRACE volunteers puts into it. The client had recently been in the local shelter, Brighter Tomorrows, a shelter committed to listening, believing and helping victims of domestic violence. The newest GRACE member was greeted to GRACE with a home blessing, which sees the GRACE staff and members of the community welcoming the new client to their new home either in person or through zoom. This particular client asked if the staff from

Thanks to our volunteers, we are celebrating the 12th anniversary of VITA: the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. In partnership with United Way of Tarrant County and the City of Fort Worth, GRACE provided close to 300 families with tax assistance, financial coaching, and more than $550,000in tax refunds in 2021. Without volunteers, this would not have been possible. On Monday, VITA volunteers will once again take residence at the GRACE main offices, and will be assisting taxpayers through April 29th. The results of this effort are astounding. In the eleven years GRACE has been a VITA location, over $2,500,000 has been refunded to local families. Last year, families averaged nearly $1,000 in additional refunds in Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credits alone. These credits are often left unclaimed or given a fraction of the return with a costly tax service. For those on limited budgets or fixed