Award season continues with the Colleyville Chamber awards, which highlighted the individuals, organizations, and company’s accomplishments throughout the community. Through their works of service, these outstanding individuals continue to raise awareness for community involvement by volunteering, giving generous donations, and just being a good back yard neighbor. Here are the awards and winners for the Colleyville Chamber awards for 2022. Citizen of the Year Iva Mishra- Blue Ocean Capital, LLC Little Leader of the Year Luke Dutro Leadership Award Juli Gerrad, Pirate Island Pools, LLC Member of the Year Mark Alphonos, Montclair Wedding Event Venue Outstanding Service Organization GRACE Grapevine Youth of the Year Jordan Losack and Eric Tong Corporation of the Year Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Business of the Year Candace Sandifer-Houser Firm Ambassador of the Year Kylan Hoss- ProCo Roofing and Construction Community Hero Award Rabbi Charlie Cytron- Walker and Chief Michael Miller Chairman’s Award Shonda Schaefer and Iva Mishra

Last fiscal year, GRACE assisted over 12,000 individuals with close to 30,000 different services. Each family we are honored to serve comes to us with a different story. Each department of GRACE works with the resources brought to us through God and the community to maximize the assistance we can provide families and individuals in crisis and financial hardship. GRACE is extremely appreciative for the support of the community we receive. We say it constantly, but we would not be able to do what we do without that support system. In turn, GRACE can be an amazing place to work, with ongoing opportunity for growth, engagement and reward. We are currently looking to fill full-time positions in development, resale administration and programs. Take a look at our site if you think any of these positions might fit your skillset! For those who aren’t sure if they would find their passion

On a night full of fun, food, and most importantly competition, the fourth annual GRACE Poker Tournament was far from disappointing… well maybe to some. The week of the Poker Tournament was shaping up to be gloomier than usual with the recent winter storm in DFW. Many wondered if the event would be canceled and pushed back to a later date, but CEO Shonda Schaefer and the rest of the GRACE Staff had different plans in mind. After checking road conditions and weather for everyone’s safety, Shonda made it official that the Poker tournament would resume as normal. Special Events Manager, Mary Tejada, and Seasonal Events Coordinator, Beth Chernik, made sure the set up was pleasing to the eye with their festive decorations. From the setup of the tables to the bar top, these wonderful ladies with the help of their team went all out. Their efforts paired w with

As 2022 continues to bring us more days, GRACE does the same with many different volunteer opportunities. The amount of ways you can make a difference in our community with any of our GRACE programs is amazing. Let’s explore a few of the numerous volunteer opportunities. Spring time is around the corner and what better way to get into spring fever with volunteering for the GRACE Community Gardens. The Community Gardens is led by experienced volunteer Caryn Hutchinson, who has been volunteering with the community gardens for over ten years. She is currently part of the Tarrant County Master Gardeners Association, and other organizations around the community. 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. The organically grown produce from the garden

At its heart, Galentine’s Day is a celebration of friendship and connections that outlast all of life’s rough patches, dry spells and even some romantic relationships. Those truly good friends establish a sense of stability when nothing else is in life can make that promise. What better way to celebrate these women than with parties, retail therapy and good food? In honor of Galentine’s Day this year, Rena Frost from Mac’s on Main laid out the red carpet at her restaurant and gave the women of GRACE Transitional Housing all of the above. On Wednesday night, each member of the program was invited to dress up for an evening of fine dining and wine. When the ladies arrived, a four course meal had been prepared just for them, complete with a wine pairing to sip with each dish. If it wasn’t already special enough, Rena had customized menus crafted for

Grapevine’s Dark Knight Presents the Bat Ball 2022! Ladies and gentleman, it’s time to rev up the bat mobile and get into gear, because the BAT Ball 2022 is here. Established in 2015, Grapevine’s Dark Knight quickly became a ministry for putting smiles on the faces of young and old alike. From appearing in hospitals as Batman himself or teaching Sunday school at Whites Chapel in Southlake, Jason Parker knows how to put a smile on your face. His sense of humor and passion for the community inspires people to become their own hero. That is why GRACE is grateful to be one of the beneficiaries for this event. With the renaming of this event, (formally named GalaCon) and the urge of the community to get out of the house after a year of COVID-19, Jason believes Bat Ball 2022 will be the best one yet. He has worked hard

As GRACE gears up for our upcoming volunteer appreciation event this spring, we want to take a moment to introduce the Volunteer Manager Ryan Jackson, the face behind it all! A natural people-person and recent graduate from the University of Texas at Arlington, GRACE was lucky to snag Ryan when we did! Prior to his days at GRACE, Ryan received a degree in Public Relations and Broadcast and went straight into work at the Texas State Fair as a PR Assistant. The confidence and charisma he brought to radio interviews, television appearances and film shoots are just part of what makes him so great to work alongside. Ryan’s first week on the job was the week of Gala- not at all overwhelming for a new-hire. Much to everyone’s surprise, he was organizing groups of volunteers like he’d worked the event his whole life! After accepting the position as Volunteer Manager,

We are just days away from our fourth annual GRACE Poker Tournament, and the excitement continues to fill the air. Just thinking about the sweet smell of a fresh deck of cards, poker chips and the thought of winning the grand prize can make anyone wonderstruck. The facility that will be hosting our amazing event will be none other than Park Place Jaguar Land Rover DFW. Park Place has been hosting for the last two years, and this year just like the other years, they are sure to not disappoint. Park Place and their amazing staff have supported GRACE for well over a decade, and their continuous support does not go unnoticed. Some of the ways they have supported GRACE include volunteering for our programs, sponsoring events, making donations, and many more. The love they have for the community and always being able to lend a hand to their neighbors

The fourth annual GRACE Poker Tournament is just one short week away. Here at GRACE, we have been working to prepare for this event, making sure the tables have been polished. That the chips have been racked and are ready to go. Before you know it Saturday, February 5th will be here. This year’s event will again be at the beautiful and upscale Park Place Jaguar Land Rover DFW. This annual event raises funds for our GRACE programs and has been an enormous success since it was started two years ago by chairs Lynda and Robert Warner. GRACE is honored to once again have the Wright Construction Company as our presenting sponsors for the 2022 Poker tournament. If there’s one name many people in the community know in Grapevine, is the Wright family. Through the years, this family has been a significant part of Grapevine, owning business, volunteerism throughout the

We are excited to announce that once again, GRACE has been recognized for our transparency and dedication to our clients by GuideStar. For the second consecutive year, GRACE has earned the Platinum Seal- the highest rating given. GuideStar, which is a part of an organization called Candid, serves as a rating and recognition system for non-profits around the world. When deciding which organizations receive this award, Candid takes into consideration the accessibility of financial documents, how frequently information is updated and other practices that maintain the integrity of a company. According to Candid’s website, “Every year, millions of nonprofits spend trillions of dollars around the world. Candid finds out where that money comes from, where it goes, and why it matters. Through research, collaboration, and training, Candid connects people who want to change the world to the resources they need to do it. Candid’s data tools on nonprofits, foundations, and