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

Before my journey with GRACE even started, Stacy let me know that her intention was, and had been for a while, to retire and dedicate more time with her family. Because she cared so much for GRACE, our team, and those we serve, she delayed that retirement. First, to step into the role of Interim CEO to help GRACE through a time of transition and change, and then again to support me as I stepped into the role long term. Myself and the leadership team will forever be grateful for the sacrifice of time that Stacy gave to us all to make sure GRACE was taken care of in this way. GRACE is so very blessed and I count myself lucky to be a part of this team. It is with a heavy, but hopeful, heart that I announce that Stacy has decided it is now time to put her dreams of retirement into action. She will be with

GRACE is excited to introduce and spotlight this year’s Gala Auction Chair, Cass Clements! Cass’s involvement with GRACE began as far back as 2010 when she became a resident of Grapevine. Her commitment to Grace and the Grapevine community extends beyond her work on the Events Committee, where she has been involved for over three years. She has volunteered with both with the GRACE Gala and GRACE Designer Bags & Bingo, culminating in receiving the Volunteer of the Year Award in the Events category last year. Her dedication also includes contributions to the Feed Our Kids and Christmas Cottage programs. She has passionately sought donations and sponsorships for these initiatives. Giving back has always been a core part of who Cass is. She has been an active member of the Women’s Division of the Grapevine Chamber for over five years; and held various leadership roles, including vice chair and committee

Every summer, GRACE assists families in need of school supplies and children’s clothing via our Back to School Program. GRACE begins to serve families with school supplies and backpacks around the middle of July and continues through the year when needed. GRACE also partners with GCISD at its annual Back to School Fair where hundreds of households who have signed up to attend the fair can access many services and makes the fair a one-stop-shop for many families! Because of donations and volunteer hours from the community, GRACE is able to assist with providing clothes (including new underwear and socks), school supplies, and backpacks to school-aged children whose families are experiencing financial hardship and/or qualify for free or reduced lunch. It is a great opportunity to give back to your community and contribute to this incredible effort in a variety of ways. GRACE is preparing to serve a predicted record

One of the best gifts of GRACE that we as staff see is when the community looks out for each other and uses us to do it. This month, we have one such story. Last month, our care managers were contacted by a very concerned employee of a utility company about an 83-year-old woman who did not and has not had gas in her home for three months. This sweet woman was immediately contacted by GRACE staff so that a further assessment could be conducted. By making arrangements to visit with her face-to-face in her home GRACE confirmed that this woman had been without gas for 3 months, had been unable to use her stove, and did not have hot water. She had been making do by heating her water in the sun and sometimes using the microwave. GRACE learned that her service being disconnected was the result of a

With recent storms and the start of summer, requests to the GRACE Food Pantry are at an all-time high. The GRACE Pantry will have a total of close to 900 visits this month alone, and we are in need of help to meet this need! GRACE was one of those unfortunate to have power loss for an extended period of time this week due to storm, causing a substantial food loss to some of our most needed items. This loss, coupled with increased need from those affected by the storm on top of the annual summer increase in demand, has left our pantry shelves and fridge dangerously low on supply. If you would like to assist in helping our neighbors during this time of increased need, please consider a donation to the Food Pantry to help GRACE restock! There are many ways to donate: Make a monetary donation HERE, stop by