GRACE is excited to invite the community to the 2025 GRACE Gala Gifting Party, a special prelude to this year’s GRACE “Angels Among Us” Gala. The event will be held on Wednesday, September 17, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Crush It! Sports Lounge in Grapevine, promising an evening full of community, celebration, and meaningful giving.

Attendees will be treated to flavorful food as the evening kicks off. A variety of games and interactive experiences will add fun to the night, provi welcoming environment of Crush It! Sports Lounge, DFW’s first interactive sports and social lounge. It’s fun and energetic atmosphere makes it the perfect backdrop for a night where generosity meets community spirit.

Guests are asked to bring an item valued at $100 or more as their entry to the Gifting Party, helping to build an exciting lineup for the GRACE Gala auction. Over the years, the auctions have become known for featuring a wide variety of unique and exciting items, including vacation packages, hotel stays, gift baskets, event tickets, golf packages, curated experiences, and specialty items. Every donation contributes to the success of the Gala, helping GRACE raise vital funds to support families and individuals throughout Grapevine and the surrounding areas.

Local businesses are encouraged to participate by donating products, services, or curated experiences for the auction. This is an excellent opportunity for businesses to showcase what they have to offer, connect with the community, and support a meaningful cause. Contributions from local businesses not only help fill the auction catalog with unique items but also highlight the creativity and generosity of Grapevine-area entrepreneurs while supporting GRACE’s mission.

This year’s GRACE Gala will take place on Saturday, November 15, 2025, at the spectacular Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center. The Gala promises to be an extraordinary evening of elegance, inspiration, and generosity, celebrating the many ways GRACE touches lives in the community. Contributions brought to the Gifting Party will play a significant role in building the impressive auction catalog, creating opportunities for attendees at the Gala to bid on memorable experiences while supporting GRACE’s mission. Gala tickets, tables, and raffle tickets are now available at GRACEGala.org.

Everyone is invited to attend the Gifting Party on Wednesday, September 17, at 401 W State Hwy 114, Grapevine, TX 76051. RSVPs are encouraged to ensure your spot at this special evening of community, fun, and giving. For more information or questions, contact Erica Baker at ebaker@GRACEGrapevine.org.

GRACE is proud to welcome Michael Gonzales, CFRE, as its new Director of Community Engagement!

Michael brings over 20 years of nonprofit development experience to his role in rounding out the development team where he will lead the efforts in cultivating relationships, communicating impact, and strengthening the volunteer base that makes it possible to achieve GRACE’s mission.

“I am excited to join GRACE as it meets the growing need to serve people when they need us the most and the assistance that is provided is a help up as they help themselves to greater self-sufficiency,” Michael said.

Michael started his career in the political arena serving as campaign manager to Fort Worth Congresswoman Kay Granger. Michael most recently served as Vice President of Development at Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas, and before that with the Dallas Children’s Theater and Boys & Girls Clubs of Arlington (now Tarrant County.)

A DFW native, Michael is a proud graduate of TCU. He is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and was recognized on Fort Worth Business Press Forty Under Forty list. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling and anything true crime.

He looks forward to meeting the many GRACE friends in our community. He can be reached at mgonzales@GRACEGrapeveine.org or 817.305.4672.

With the kids back in school and 80-degree days on the horizon, it’s time to CELEBRATE all the successes of Summer 2025! GRACE’s Feed Our Kids summer lunch program just completed its 21st year of serving our community! Thank you to the hundreds of volunteers that made this happen. Whether you’re affiliated with a civic or philanthropic organization, a local business, a church, or even just you and your family or friend group…YOU helped served 32,184 lunches over an 11-week period across six different sites in Grapevine! In fact, we counted 6,166 volunteer hours in making this program a success! To say that GRACE wouldn’t be able to do what we do without our amazing volunteers is an understatement!

To witness the excitement on the faces of our local children and their families when they arrive for the lunch hour is something special to see. Our volunteers thought about everything! From cookie decorating; rock painting; balloon fights; press on tattoos; balloon animals; and board games. These special touches turn a lunch hour into a place to gather with your friends in the middle of a summer afternoon!

Summer 2025 also marked the completion of year 10 for our GRACE Grocery Giveaway that was held once a week (at two different locations simultaneously) throughout the summer with partnership with Tarrant Area Food Bank. This summer alone, we served 753 households and 3,517 individuals.

GRACE Grocery Giveaway volunteers worked tirelessly setting up and hosting Famers Market style grocery shopping that included fresh produce, meats, dairy products and canned goods. This special program brings fresh, healthy food choices to our community where it’s most difficult to access. We’d also like to share our appreciation for White’s Chapel Mobile Market that partnered with us to bring three additional market days to our community on Saturday mornings!

Our sincerest appreciation goes out to our surrounding community as well. To our six site hosts that allows us to serve hundreds of lunches on their property to the dozens of area restaurants that often juggle their own clientele to meet the demands of our lunch program! Thank you!

The success of GRACE and its mission is measured by you, our volunteers and community supporters. Thank you for your continuous support of our Seasonal Programs. Before we realize it, GRACE will be hosting our Holiday Food Distribution where we provide local families with all the food items needed to put together a holiday meal, both at Thanksgiving and Christmas. For ways to participate in this and other volunteer opportunities, please reach out to Deb Ebeling at volunteer@gracegrapevine.org.

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 29th: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm

Monday, September 1st: CLOSED

Tuesday, September 2nd: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

For emergency assistance or food, please call 817.602.1204. Have a blessed weekend!

GRACE was founded and established to be a resource for the unexpected, but recently, the stories that have come through our doors are unprecedented.

This last month, a mother came to us struggling to care for her youngest son, who had recently been diagnosed with stage 3 kidney cancer at just four years old. He had just had a kidney removed, and the risk of infection due to his condition is high, so, as a Certified Nurse Assistant, she had to resign her position at the hospital to protect her son in his fragile state.

This mother had done all she could. She had exhausted her reserves, applied for everything she qualified for, including applying for Social Security income on behalf of her son’s condition, and was awaiting a decision. All she could do was not enough.

Rent was due, and her resources were depleted, so she came to GRACE. After meeting with a care manager, the client was able to return to her children, knowing they would be secure for the coming months.

GRACE was able to provide a backpack, school supplies, and clothing for her other children to begin their school year confidently, while she continued to look for work and wait for her son’s application to be approved.

GRACE and our surrounding community were this family’s safety net.

As we continue to partner together, we will provide both temporary and ongoing tailored support that stabilizes households just like this one for the future ahead.

We’re thrilled to announce the opening of GRACEful-Buys Outlet, our newest retail space, located inside Donation Station!

What began as a small, twice-a-year garage sale has grown into a vital part of the Grapevine community for over 25 years. GRACEful-Buys and Donation Station have continued to thrive thanks to the incredible generosity and support of local donors and shoppers.

“We are so blessed to have continuous donations from the community all of these years, that we are now able to expand selling at our Donation Station location,” said Rebecca Cox, GRACE’s CEO.

New Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

This exciting expansion will feature a unique selection of items including:

· Artwork

· Electronics

· Sporting goods

· Outdoor equipment

· And much more!

“We are using this as an opportunity to get some of the outside back inside by bringing some of the Backlot from the Grapevine store indoors,” said Jennifer Rawls, Director of Resale & Operations.

Backlot Treasure Hunters, don’t worry! We’ll still have outdoor finds available at the Grapevine store, now you’ll just have two treasure troves to explore close by.

Donation Station has seen major growth in recent years. After expanding to online sales in 2020, it moved to its current location in 2021 and continues to serve as the primary hub for most home goods donations. Please note: Furniture donations should still be taken to our Grapevine or Euless stores.

Donation Station Details:

· 1st Entrance – Parking for the new GRACEful-Buys-Outlet

· 2nd Entrance – Donation Station donation drive-through

We can’t wait to welcome you into this new chapter and thank you for continuing to make GRACE a part of your community.