Area steel fabricator James Irwin and his family visited GRACE Donation Station on Wednesday, April 17, to commemorate the corner of Lee’s Avenue and Jackson’s Way. Lee’s Avenue is named after Stella Lee Irwin, James’ spouse, who passed away last year. Jackson’s Way is named after Jackson Paige, James’ grandson, who was called to the Lord’s side at a young age. Attending the ceremony with James was Jackson’s mother Jessica Battaglia and her children. Other family members included Amy and Jason Brothers, James’ daughter and son-in-law, and their children, and James’ son Bryan Irwin, his wife Jennifer and some of their children as well as other family and friends.

GRACE is thrilled to announce a new facet of partnership between ourselves and Tarrant County Homelessness Coalition (TCHC)! Founded in 1989, TCHC is known for its incredibly impactful work assisting the unhoused. GRACE has utilized training and resources provided by TCHC to educate staff and offer assistance to struggling families. However, this new facet comes in the form of funding! GRACE has been selected as a recipient of the recent Day 1 Funding Grant facilitated by TCHC, and we’re thrilled! This funding will allow us to continue to meet the rising need of our clients for affordable housing.

In March, GRACE was able to step into the story of a single father of two young girls who had never asked for help before but, after experiencing a sudden job loss, needed GRACE. As a Veteran, he had VA benefits, but they were not enough to sustain the cost of living for him and his girls. The life savings he had been using to fill the gaps while looking for work were swiftly depleting. Enter GRACE. After meeting with a GRACE Care Manager, this single dad shared that even though he immediately began searching for another job in November, the job market had been difficult for his particular field and he had yet to find a new position. Our care manager was able to help review his situation in full, prioritize greatest areas of need, and, ultimately, GRACE was able to assist with rent, utilities and provide him with

GRACE hallways were looking especially vibrant this month as 174 overflowing Easter baskets lined the halls from our friends at Good Shepherd Catholic Community. Good Shepherd has donated baskets each year for families who come through our Client Services area, and we are happy to announce that each and every Easter basket is spoken for just in time for the big Sunday! Of these baskets, 15 of them were delivered to the families currently involved in the Transitional Housing Program at GRACE. The annual donation has become a long-standing and highly anticipated tradition. Clients look forward to picking out the extravagant, colorful baskets and begin asking about them each year as Easter approaches. In addition to this tradition, White’s Chapel Methodist Church partnered with GRACE to host the most extravagant Easter Egg Hunt last Saturday! The festivities were complete with bounce houses, a cake walk, a cotton candy station, a

One in six children in the state of Texas is currently facing food insecurity. That means that right now, in a classroom of 30 children, five of them are experiencing hunger. You may be familiar with our summer lunch program, Feed Our Kids, which provides free lunches to children who rely on their schools to provide a midday meal during the school year. But did you know that GRACE also hosts Feed Our Kids during spring break? After spending the morning at City Sports camp, children arrived at the two lunch sites with big appetites, and our friends from First Baptist Grapevine and First Grapevine Methodist Church were ready to serve. Longtime supporters of GRACE, these congregations were delighted to serve for this year’s spring break edition of Feed Our Kids. Children received lunches, but it doesn’t end there. Volunteers brought games, bubbles, chalk, and even art supplies so that

Are you ready to Rock and Roll? We are two weeks away from the 2024 Volunteer Appreciation Week and the annual GRACE Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon! GRACE volunteers are Rock Stars, and we’re ramping up to honor all that they do! Every volunteer here at GRACE has a Heart of Gold— there’s no question about it— and they take center-stage in all that we do. Last year, we celebrated the Heroes of GRACE. But our volunteers have reached a certain level of stardom in our hearts that’s hard to ignore, and we want to celebrate them with parties and a luncheon fit for rock stars. That’s why, this year’s theme is Rock and Roll! GRACE staff is setting the stage for some amazing site parties! Here’s a sneak peek at the site set list leading up to the luncheon: · Kicking things off is GRACEful Buys in Euless, with their party

What a blessing the North Texas Light the World Giving Machine has been to GRACE! Presented to us as a unique and new to the area concept, we could not have imaged what a welcome and unexpected (as you can see from our faces!) surprise the outcome would be! We are truly honored and thrilled to have been selected for this initiative and deeply appreciate the opportunity to bring the mission of GRACE and the story of our clients to hundreds who have never heard of what we do. By using a Giving Machine, donors were able to support GRACE by selecting one of three cards we placed in the machine that demonstrated the impact you could make in the lives of our clients during the 2023 holiday season. What is a Giving Machine? It’s simply a vending machine where individuals can select items to donate to charity. It’s as

24 Hours in ’24 The 2024 edition of “24 Hours of GRACE” is in the books! “24 Hours in ‘24” was a resounding success, thanks to your wonderful generosity! THANK YOU! Your gifts and pledges help energize the GRACE mission and strengthen our programs and services. GRACE is truly blessed to have such generous and forward-looking friends. Many reached out to their friends and invited them to join in! And so many did! Few agencies help as many people in as many different ways as GRACE. Still, the GRACE mission is only a channel through which your generosity reaches those in need. Your support provides stability, and strengthens GRACE’s ability to serve the needs of our clients and their families. GRACE is honored, humbled, and fortunate to play a small role in ensuring your donations are used efficiently and effectively to serve the needs in our community. Because of your

  In observation of Easter and Good Friday, GRACE sites will be operating under adjusted hours as listed below: Thursday, March 28, 2024 Donation Station: 8:00 – 5:00 pm GRACEful Buys Resale Stores: 9:30 – 6:00 pm GRACE Main Offices/Food Pantry/Community Clinic: 9:00 – 3:00 pm   Friday, March 29, 2024 Donation Station: CLOSED GRACEful Buys Resale Stores: CLOSED GRACE Main Offices/Food Pantry/Community Clinic: CLOSED Saturday, March 30, 2024 Donation Station: 8:00 – 5:00 pm GRACEful Buys Resale Stores: 9:30 – 6:00 pm GRACE Main Offices/Food Pantry/Community Clinic: CLOSED Sunday, March 31, 2024 Donation Station: CLOSED GRACEful Buys Resale Stores: CLOSED GRACE Main Offices/Food Pantry/Community Clinic: CLOSED   For inquires about receiving assistance, please call 817-488-7009. If you have an emergency that cannot wait until Monday, please call our emergency line at 817-602-1204. Stay safe and have a blessed Easter weekend!

Tuesday, March 26, our “24 Hours of GRACE” will ask you to help us help those in need. This “24 Hours of GRACE” is your chance to do the very most good for the people GRACE serves. Past donors to our “24 Hours of GRACE” campaigns have funded GRACE Hunger Services, Housing Services, Health Services, Emergency Services, Senior Services, and Children’s Services—our entire Continuum of Care. “24 Hours” gifts have helped GRACE broaden services, and develop new ways to help those in need. These gifts gave hope to many who had no where else to turn. “24 Hours” gifts in March 2020, helped us survive the terrifying times during the start of the pandemic. Since we began “24 Hours of GRACE” in 2013, these gifts have touched the lives of so many families in so many ways. “24 Hours” gifts have never been needed more than this year—“24 Hours in