With all the pomp and circumstance of a graduation, three women are completing the GRACE Transitional Housing program, and will celebrate their achievement on Thursday, March 22 at Stewart Hall in The REC Grapevine, 1175 Municipal Way. Although the three graduates have reached life-changing goals already, the commencement will mark the conclusion of their two-year program with GRACE. “Each participant has accomplished long and short term goals that lead them to independent and successful lives,” said Shonda Schaefer, GRACE Executive Director. “It is a true celebration, but also a chance to say our ‘congratulations’ and ‘goodbyes’ as well.” The counseling-focused program focuses on improving life skills, education, employment and physical, emotional and spiritual health. Strong bonds grow among the participants, many who have created lifelong friends through the experience. It is also natural that the same type of bond grows between the program participants and the staff that counsel and

On Tuesday, March 24 the annual “24 Hours of GRACE” campaign will ask you to make a gift to GRACE and send the request on to your friends. Last year, “24 Hours of GRACE” was successful enough to help fund GRACE services through the start of the summer months. The success was due, in very large part, to the efforts of donors who helped the campaign go “viral”. We ask for you to be a campaigner for GRACE and spread the word about “24 Hours of GRACE” to your friends! Every Friday this month will feature reasons you can share with your friends when asking for their support. Here are just a few reasons: Last year, the GRACE Food Pantry had more than 7,000 visits and provided over 500,000 pounds of food for hungry families. Nearly half of all GRACE clients are the “working poor”, stretching meager wages from a

With all of the political ads running on the local TV stations, it’s easy to forget about what’s REALLY important: The polls are open for Living Magazine’s annual “Best Of Readers’ Choice Awards”. Among the many categories are “Resale/Consignment Shop” and “Women’s Boutique”. This is your chance to stand up for your favorite resale store, and help GRACE win!! Voting continues until midnight on Thursday, March 15, and winners will be formally announced in the August issue of the magazine and online at LivingMagazine.net. Voting is easy!  Simply go to Readers’ Choice Ballot and select “Northeast Tarrant County” from the North Texas column. After a few questions like name and email address, you will have dozens of categories to vote for your favorite places to eat, play, shop, relax, etc. You can vote for any business that fits those categories, BUT when you get to number 37- Resale/Consignment Shop, please

It is a sad story to tell, but it happens all too often these days. More often than we realize, seniors face isolation, hunger and a poor quality of life simply because they are hesitant to accept help or have no loved ones close by. For seniors living on a fixed income often decisions must be made on what to sacrifice in order for meager incomes to cover costs. It is very difficult to pay bills and make it to the end of the month with enough food to eat. This situation is compounded when the senior lives alone and is faced with these decisions without a safety net of friends and family to help. The purpose of GRACE’s Friends & Family program is to prevent senior isolation and to preserve the dignity of seniors by helping them live independently in their homes for as long as possible. Challenges to

The GRACE Gala will rock to the high-energy sounds of Party Machine this October! Party Machine will help GRACE celebrate the 15th annual Gala on Saturday, October 6, at the Gaylord Texan Resort. All the proceeds from the event will support GRACE services. Part of the Emerald City management group that has honored the Gala in recent years with the Limelight Band and, of course, the Emerald City Band, Party Machine is the newest member of the team and is quickly making a name for itself. “Last year, Emerald City rocked our stage. We can’t wait for their newest band to do the same,” said GRACE Executive Director Shonda Schaefer. The band has played several high-profile private events, performing for the Frisco Mayor’s Ball, the Grant Halliburton Foundation, Great Wolf Lodge, and Delta Dallas. Party Machine played two huge outdoor Independence Day festivals in 2017: The Addison Kaboomtown fireworks celebration and the Fort Worth

Children and parents are looking forward to Spring Break, now just a couple of weeks away, March 12-16. Travel plans, destination resorts, theme parks—all are part of the mix of conversations around dinner tables these days. GRACE’s plans are centering on providing lunches for the children who would normally eat on the school’s free and reduced lunch program. Feed Our Kids Spring Break is now a seasonal event after its success the last three years. Feed Our Kids has been a traditional summertime experience for our many volunteers and donors. It will be again this summer, but anytime school is out of session, children whose families rely on free or reduced lunches are at greater risk for food insecurity. Also, parents of at-risk children often work long shifts, sometimes two jobs, to make ends meet. Lunch may be the only true meal their children get all day long. Serving these

Grapevine Gardening Club’s Karen Rice spent a rainy Saturday instructing a group of 10 participants on the art of Container Gardening. Although the weather was not very cooperative, it made for a cozy group inside the GRACE Food Pantry, and Ms. Rice sent each participant home with a beautiful garden—and plenty of rain to keep it growing! Container Gardening is a needed skill for those who live in apartments, or have small yards. Even if space is limited, growing vegetables and herbs in a container takes only a little space but is an easy way to savor the flavor and freshness of produce. Ms. Rice wanted to make sure that there was a good mixture of plants and seeds so each participant could personalize their garden specific to their needs. Plants included 5 types of lettuce, kale, oregano, rosemary and onions; and seeds included cilantro, dill, chives, and carrots.  Ms.

Dallas Airmotive has been a strong supporter of the GRACE Community Clinic since 2008, giving nearly $25,000 in that time. Last week, they did it again! Angela McDade, John Hocking and Mark Moyer visited the Clinic with a donation of $5,000. Dallas Airmotive and the Community Clinic share a common goal to see that every resident has access to basic medical care, according to Mr. Moyer, a former member of the GRACE Board of Directors. Dallas Airmotive also provides volunteer support for other GRACE programs throughout the year, like Feed Our Kids, Christmas Cottage, and Donation Station. We are continually grateful for the generosity of businesses in the community, and look forward to the seeing the impact Dallas Airmotive’s donation will make for patients at the Community Clinic this year.

Southlake Realtor Randy White learned the real estate business from his father and grandfather and, like them, he has a strong desire to help build his community. Supporting missions—like GRACE—that stabilize and strengthen families is something he is called to do. Randy White—Randy White Real Estate Services—is the new Title Sponsor of the 2018 Drive Into the Night (DITN) tournament to support GRACE children’s services. The event is scheduled for Friday, April 20, at the Grapevine Golf Course. Thousands of children and families in communities throughout northeast Tarrant County will benefit when the DITN players line up their shots through the wooded rolling hills of Grapevine Golf Course. The focus of DITN has remained the same since its inception nine years ago. DITN began as a small novelty event to raise funds for GRACE children’s services. In its first eight years DITN has raised more than $250,000 to help the

The British Emporium owner Sheela Kadam Bailey has been hostess to a near-infinite number of great events celebrating everything United Kingdom! From the Queen’s Jubilee to the magical wonders of Father Christmas, Sheela and her award-winning shop have come forward in grand style. This time, she is celebrating something even more special: The British Emporium turns 25! To commemorate her Silver Anniversary, Sheela has booked The Palace and invited a band—four lads from Liverpool—to make the evening memorable. Doors to Grapevine’s Palace Arts Center open at 7 p.m., Saturday, February 24, and the theatre opens at 7:30 p.m. The Beatles tribute band, A Hard Night’s Day, will cover nearly the entire catalog of The Beatles. Admission is just $25—one dollar for every year Sheela has been the premier British grocer, tea merchant and gift purveyor in Grapevine. Sheela’s wide selection of hard-to-find imported teas, biscuits, chocolates, preserves, and fine groceries