It is award season, and we were excited to attend both the Grapevine Chamber Community awards which were held on the 27th at the Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center and the Metroport awards which were held at the Texas Motor Speedway. Both events recognize companies, nonprofits, and individuals and celebrate volunteerism and citizenship throughout the community. It also shows that you’re never too old, or too young to give back to your community, whether through volunteerism, or through your generous donations. Here at GRACE, we strive to be good Stewarts of the community. Giving back to the community and raising awareness of community involvement is a key factor in the GRACE community. Shonda Schaefer and Christina Cates are the few members of the GRACE community to be nominated for awards for their ability to put the needs of the community first, and for that we applaud them for going

GRACE welcomes our new Special Events Coordinator, Mary Tejada! Mary’s passion has been event planning since she could remember. Having been a part of a big family since she was a little girl, hostess is a role she took on at an early age. Before taking on her role at GRACE, Mary was a Sr. Administrative Assistant and Health Fair Coordinator for Texas Health Resources in Ft. Worth for over two decades. Here she assisted with many health fairs and community events for the hospital. Mary came to GRACE about month before the 2021 GRACE “angels among us” Gala, and automatically had an endless list of tasks to be taken care of. She credits Director of Community Engagement, CiCi Cates, whom she inherited the role from, for being a great guide and helping her transition into the new role. Mary’s role in the GRACE Gala helped prepare her for many

We have some of the easiest sponsors to brag on who are quick to support GRACE when given the chance. These sponsors come from a wide range of skills that not only help GRACE, but also benefit the community as a whole with their service and loyalty. New to the table is our King of Hearts sponsor, the Champions Club, known for its exquisite food, high caliber entertainment and luxury atmosphere. Founded by a group of world-class hospitality professionals, Champions introduces a family-oriented entertainment concept in Dallas, complete with fine dining, live music, poker, stand-up comedy, trivia, wine-tastings, whiskey tastings, private event rentals and more. We are so excited to welcome them to this year’s event, as they are sure to add a level of class to the evening. Laura and Johnny Campanello are this year’s Queen of Diamond Sponsors. The couple has resided in the Grapevine community for over

GRACE is extremely blessed to have the immense support it does from the community. Since opening at our new location, Donation Station has seen an unprecedented amount of goods come through our driveway. Because of your generous donations, hundreds if not thousands of individuals will have the items needed to start fresh or become self-sufficient amidst a health or financial crisis. Your generosity has been so overwhelming, we have to take a moment to catch our breath. Due to staffing and volunteer shortages, Donation Station will be reducing its hours. Beginning today, Donation Station will be closed on Sundays and Mondays, and continue to be open from 8-5 Tuesdays through Saturdays. This excludes Thursdays, however, as the drive will be closed to allow staff and volunteers available to focus on production inside. We apologize for any inconvenience this creates. While we won’t be accepting donations on these days, we would

Whether it’s a generous donation or an item that hits close to home, GRACE has the best donors and supporters. A generous GRACE donor and supporter won a silent auction of a window package. After winning the package, the winner immediately called GRACE and offered to give the windows to any of our clients that they thought could benefit from them. Christine Szymaszek, who is over the GRACE Friends and Family program thought of three hopeful families in the program who would enjoy the new windows. The families were thrilled to receive the special gift almost couldn’t believe it. Mike Vinez from Windows of Texas installed his premium top of the line windows into the homes of the families. After the installation of the windows, the recipients shared their appreciation to Mike and his team, thanking them for taking the time to install the windows. The families have expressed their

The Fourth Quarter 2021 GRACE MVP Award winner received multiple nominations based on exceptional customer service, outstanding attitude, interdepartmental relations/teamwork and excellence in mission. This person has been a pure joy to work with since joining the GRACE Team. Their smile is noted over and over and anyone is challenged to find a time when this person’s smile is not shining! Through all of the multiple job duties and challenges that have presented themselves, this person constantly keeps an attitude that GRACE would and should be proud of, they exemplify the values of our agency. Whether it is working nonstop with seasonal programs to assisting Gala preparations to being part of Leadership Southlake to being a good neighbor in the halls – even keeping Batman and Santa on schedule and in line at the Christmas Cottage – she provides top-notch work and is a true light in each day. GRACE

Our Food Pantry is completely out of paper goods, and we need your help! Our biggest need right now is for paper towels and toilet paper especially. With everything going around, our clients need items like paper towels as well as cleaning supplies to keep their families safe and healthy. For those wishing to make an impact, this is the easiest and most effective way to do so. Our Food Pantry serves as a grocery store and community hub for 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 drop off any donations at the GRACE Food Pantry. Thank you

COVID-19 has done more than its fair share of damage in the last two years. The mere utterance of its name is enough to make a person groan, and this will likely remain true for decades to come. The economic, educational and especially mental effects have been extensive, giving some of our favorite businesses, big and small, no choice but to shut down. Knowing how many families GRACE would be forced to turn away, it became our mission to do everything in our power to keep the virus from coming between GRACE and its clients. We are pleased to announce that 92% of our employees are fully vaccinated to date! On top of this, 90% of our GRACE Community Clinic clients are fully vaccinated as well, and the large majority have received their booster! It is becoming more and more clear that COVID-19 will be not be making a full

From being a representative of GRACE to helping clients, the GRACE staff certainly play many roles in others’ lives, and that is why it is a bittersweet feeling to say goodbye to Marcela Melendez and Fran Butterfield. Marcela Melendez was GRACE’s Client Service Manager. She recently left GRACE to continue her education at Dallas College and eventually UTA to become a future Nurse Practitioner. Marcy started working with GRACE nine years ago, and has made a lasting impact during her time here. She has served over 10,000 clients, headed many back-to-school drives and has strived to put clients’ needs first in every situation. People who worked with her have said she is, “very compassionate and kindhearted, and you can see it when she’s interacting with her clients.” To her coworkers, she’s known to be a giver because of the many gifts she gives on birthdays, special holidays and sometimes on

Our Christmas Cottage has officially closed for the season. Though the toys, books and decorations might be gone, the Cottage is still overflowing with the thankful hearts of our community and everyone here at GRACE. Individuals, families, churches, schools, civic organizations and corporations alike united under one cause and the mission of GRACE. You made the difference and created a joyful, worry-free Christmas for our families. We could not have served our community without the generosity, strength and love from all of you. This year you helped us serve 805 households, which consisted of 2,912 individuals. With every gift delivered off and every hour sacrificed, our volunteers were able create almost 3,000 smiles this year. We hope you are as proud of your impact as we are- we can’t thank you enough! The GRACE family wishes you a happy and healthy new year, and we hope to see you again