GRACE interviews hundreds of households each month…households led by hard working individuals that find it difficult to meet their families’ basic needs. Last month, Care Managers in Client Services interviewed over 800 families, each in need of assistance to combat a financial crisis that put them in a position to risk housing, hunger and often times health. What GRACE sees time after time is one crisis that can quickly spiral out of control causing a “domino affect” further burdening the family. Transportation is often the catalyst for disruption in the family. For the families we visit each day, the loss of a vehicle even for a minor repair can be catastrophic. By losing a family’s means of transportation, every other area of security is affected. Job security is disrupted, childcare can be affected, and food security can all spiral out of control as a family works to repair or replace

In honor of the Labor Day holiday, all administrative and program sites will be closing at 3:00 p.m. Friday, and reopening Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. All resale sites will remain open and operating at normal hours. The program and administrative hours will be as follows: Friday, August 30th: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm **CLIENT SERVICES AND FOOD PANTRY CLOSED ALL FRIDAY Monday, September 2nd: CLOSED Tuesday, September 3rd: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm   For emergency assistance or food, please call 817.602.1204. Have a blessed weekend!

In the month of July, GRACE received a client who needed assistance of every kind. During her appointment, our care worker listened as the distressed client explained that the house she shared with her young daughter had recently experienced an electrical issue which led to a fire starting under the home. The home was still standing, but of course, had damage and was in desperate need of electrical repairs. Amid quite a scare, she did everything right. She had obtained generous support from loved ones, had taken care of her rent and upcoming payments, and scheduled a contractor to take care of the fire damage and necessary electrical repairs. Sadly, the client was deceived by her contractor. The repairs she thought were handled were not executed properly. All that time, effort, money, and responsible reaction in handling the unexpected crisis, and she was still left with an unsafe home, no

We are thrilled to invite you to our upcoming GRACE Gifting Party, a special prelude to the GRACE “angels among us” Gala. Mark your calendars for an exciting evening on Wednesday, August 28th, from 6pm to 8pm at the Crush It! Sports Lounge in Grapevine. Invite friends, family and neighbors! Share this opportunity with local businesses! The gifting party promises to be a fun-filled evening of networking, and family fun with delicious food, engaging games, and a wonderful opportunity to help further the mission of GRACE in our community. GRACE is asking all attendees to bring an item valued at $100 or more for our GRACE Gala auction as a ticket of admission to the Gifting Party. We encourage everyone to bring their best items that evening, contributing to the large assortment of auction items for our silent and live auctions. Our auction catalog is known for showcasing a variety

You may remember learning about our Take One, Leave One— or “TOLO” — boxes last December. These big blue boxes, stationed at three GRACE locations, are one of the ways in which GRACE combats food insecurity in our community. The TOLO boxes offer individuals and families immediate access to food outside of GRACE Food Pantry operating hours. Since their introduction, we’ve had businesses, families, and community groups adopt these boxes. Each group has done an amazing job maintaining the TOLO boxes, keeping them well stocked and cared for, and ensuring they remain viable resources for our community! As we head into the heart of summer, we’re looking for volunteers to adopt these boxes! What does adopting a TOLO Box entail? Here’s what to expect: These TOLO boxes are entirely volunteer-driven Individuals, groups, or businesses can ‘adopt’ a box for a one month period* The adopting group will keep the box

GRACE is thrilled to announce Laura Harris, Co-Anchor of NBC 5 Today will be emceeing the GRACE Gala for the 6th consecutive year. Laura Harris is a 3-time Emmy Award and Associated Press award-winning journalist who joined the NBC 5 team in September 2018. She can be seen co-anchoring NBC 5 Today weekday mornings from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. Some highlights of Laura’s career at NBC 5 include covering the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021 and currently, at the 2024 Olympics in Paris! Laura is no stranger to serving the community. She helped start the childhood literacy initiative at NBC 5 Reading With You. It’s an innovative program encouraging elementary-aged children to read at least one book a week throughout the summer to help combat summer learning loss, often referred to as the “summer slide.” She came to Dallas-Fort Worth from the ABC affiliate in Tampa, Florida.

It’s official! Staff and Committee Members are gearing up for the 21st annual GRACE Gala on Saturday, November 2nd! The GRACE Gala— now back home in Grapevine— is one of our largest annual fundraisers. The proceeds from this event fund our programs and services for the families and individuals who come to GRACE seeking assistance. We may still be months away, but work has already begun and we’ll need your help! This year, we’re looking for volunteers to help with: Loading up and move in Set up and decorating Check in and Registration Main lobby greeters Photographer assistant Selfie booth photographers Raffle sales Check out Ticket distribution Tear down and load up The GRACE Gala is an inspiring and unforgettable event. Volunteers play a huge role in making this possible— and we want you to be a part of it! As we get closer to the event, an online registration

Among the crates and pallets in the GRACE Food Pantry Warehouse is a small plaque dedicating the space to Rusty Thigpen. For nearly 20 years Rusty ran the Food Pantry and guided its growth from a ragtag collection of cans and boxes to the hugely beneficial Hunger Services program it anchors today. The Savior called for Rusty on June 14, and he met Jesus in his home surrounded by family and friends. We are gathering from 4-6 p.m. on Monday, July 29, here at 837 East Walnut Street in Grapevine to celebrate Rusty’s life and his calling to feed the hungry. His daughter, Tami, will join us in remembering her father and his unique way with others. For those who visited the Food Pantry more than 110,000 times over his tenure, Rusty was the kind gentleman who helped feed their families, gave them diapers and formula for their babies, provided

In honor of the Independence Day holiday, all administrative and program sites at 837 E. Walnut Street will be closing at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 3rd and reopening at 9:00 a.m on Friday, July 5th. The hours will be as follows: Wed, July 3rd: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm Thurs, July 4th: CLOSED Fri, July 5th: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm   GRACEful Buys Resale stores and Donation Station will remain open under normal operating hours. If you have an emergency that cannot wait until normal operating hours, please contact Client Services at 817-602-1204. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Have a safe and blessed holiday!

When summertime rolls around every year, so does two of our favorite programs – Feed Our Kids and GRACE Grocery Giveaway! We are so blessed with teams of volunteers that make each of these programs available to our community. Last year, Feed Our Kids provided over 34,000 lunches to the children of the Grapevine/Colleyville Independent School District during the summer months. Volunteers, organizations and departments from all over the community dish out everything from grilled hamburgers and hotdogs to special pizza parties with snow cones for dessert! With six different sites for area families to benefit from, GRACE wants to ensure that no child goes hungry! Our amazing group of FOK volunteers arrive not only with meals for the kiddos, but also with board games, sidewalk chalk, bubbles and balls to throw! It’s truly a “recess hour” for all those in attendance. The other feeding program here at GRACE is