The Food Pantry provides nearly 900 holiday meals to families struggling over the Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays. Church congregations, businesses, and families have responded with abundant generosity for Thanksgiving, and the Food Pantry was able to serve every family that needed support. As of this week, we are still 150 turkeys short for the upcoming Christmas holiday. The Food Pantry is also asking for disposable turkey roasting pans, so we will be able to provide families with everything they need for a warm, memorable occasion. WAYS TO GIVE Turkeys can be dropped off at the Food Pantry during operational hours. If you have more than a few turkeys, it might be best to call ahead and let them know you’re coming. A gift of $20 is enough to purchase a turkey for a family of four and a roasting pan. Donations can be made on our website here.  Download the

This time of year we are especially grateful for donations of gently-used and new winter coats and jackets. We have seen an average of 420 family members getting new clothing to prepare for the cold weather each month, and that number is expected to increase. While collections are appreciated, if everyone purchased one jacket or asked their friends to gather jackets or coats at their next social gathering, we would make sure that the attire continued to provide warmth to those struggling to make ends meet. Where you can donate: Donations on behalf of local families are accepted at GRACE Main, where the Clothing Room housed at 610 Shady Brook Drive in Grapevine during operational hours Donation Station, 112 N. Scribner during office hours.

If this warmer winter is leaving you in want of some wonderland Christmas cheer, we’ve rounded up four family activities that welcome the Christmas spirit this weekend! BREAKFAST WITH SANTA The Colleyville Lions Club is proud to host the 22nd Annual Breakfast with Santa, an event that all proceeds go to support local charities, including GRACE programs. Santa will be serving pancakes with all the trimmings. The morning will feature photos with Santa, face painting, live music and Christmas carols. Better yet, one ticket covers the entire family! $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Guest are encouraged to bring a canned item to the GRACE Food Pantry or used eyeglasses for the Lions Recycle for Sight charity. Saturday, December 2 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Colleyville Center, 5305 Riverwalk Dr. More information ELVES ON THE RUN Women’s Division of the Grapevine Chamber of Commerce is hosting its second year

If you were invited to dine with some of the families facing hardship over the holidays, you wouldn’t likely find polished silver, elegant crystal or fine china dinnerware on their tablescape. In fact, some of the photos we received over the holidays of families who turned to GRACE over the holidays captured tables lined with disposable Styrofoam plates and aluminum pans. What was true of all the photos, however, was a permeable feeling of gratitude, celebration, and the joy of being together with their families. Below are the finalists in our contest with GRACE families to share their #TableofGRACE this Thanksgiving. Alma Gasca’s family received a $100 gift card for participating in the photo-sharing contest. “We thank God and GRACE that we had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner,” said Alma Gasca, “God is GOOD.” Your support in the way of volunteering, collecting food items, and giving of your resources ensures families

When members of the Compass Church family were charged with the annual Thanksgiving shopping list that would provide food for their neighbors struggling over the holidays, they went above the call and tripled expectations. The congregation collected 15,000 pounds of Thanksgiving turkeys and holiday trimmings needed to complete a warm holiday meal with loved ones. Sharing their blessings has allowed hundreds of families to gather around a table and thank the Lord for providing extra blessings this season. Compass Church has been a strong ally since 1995, and has devoted just over $240,000 to further GRACE programs. While we thought it was hard to outdo the love they have shown to families these many years, the congregation has gone above and beyond in generosity and service for local families. This defining season at Compass spurred discipleship groups organically into action at GRACE, including providing for families who face particular hardship

This week volunteers gathered around the GRACE Food Pantry back lot so hundreds of families could gather around their table over a warm holiday meal. During holiday distribution, families (and some volunteers who drove on behalf of clients who were unable to drive or lacked transportation) are able to drive through the back lot at the GRACE Food Pantry and be greeted by friendly volunteers, who load their vehicles with the holiday food basket just in time for the Thursday feast. Last year 600 turkey dinners and sides were given to families struggling to make ends meet this Thanksgiving. This week and every week at GRACE, the kindness of the volunteers and gratefulness of the clients seem to echo the sentiment we most cherish this time of year: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever.” A special thanks to the following volunteer groups that

Members of SASO collected $2,600 to purchase Christmas toys for families who are struggling this season. It was important to the group to shop specifically for teenagers as their peers and as the most-needed age group for gifts each year. Those who have a teenager or two at home know how difficult it is to shop for one, especially over the holidays, which is why it’s imperative that Christmas Cottage offer relevant, appealing options to put that childlike glee back on their faces on Christmas morning. If you’re looking for gift ideas, we’ve generated a complete Christmas Cottage wishlist, with teen gift ideas below. According to Amazon, top teen gift options include a Bluetooth shower speaker, LED wake up clock, party board games and electronics. SASO has invested nearly 500 hours of service at Christmas Cottage, Donation Station, and with Feed Our Kids, where they provided nearly 650 meals to

“…Fill them with your love, fill them with your grit, fill them with that peace that comes only from You as we, more and more, find ourselves rooted in grace; that this that this wouldn’t just be a building of brick and mortar, but one held together by generosity and love, by faith finding its hands and its voice in service…that hearts and lives would be forever changed.” Last Thursday the community spent the morning to commemorate and pray for a piece of land that will soon be the foundation for GRACE’s central location. While the ceremony itself lasted only a couple of hours, the cause for which people came has been prayed over for more than thirty years. An estimated 150 guests were in attendance of the event, which included remarks from special guests including GRACE Founder, Tricia Wood, Dr. Todd Renner of White’s Chapel United Methodist Church, GRACE

WFAA’s Meteorologist Pete Delkus and crew will be standing by at the Colleyville High School on Tuesday, December 5 to accept new, unwrapped toys on behalf of families in need. The drive-thru drop off will be set up from 5:00-8:30 p.m. WFAA’s Santa’s Helpers is celebrating its 48th year of collecting Christmas toys for children throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth counties of Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton. GRACE was one of several charities represented at the toy drive and all of the toys designated for GRACE will go to the Christmas Cottage for immediate selection by GRACE families. Pete and special guests broadcast segments throughout the night’s programming schedule, concluding with the 10 p.m. newscast. Let’s show the Metroplex how generous this community is! On that note, you can’t miss our upcoming Christmas Cottage Open House on December 12, which will bring the magic of Disney (this year’s Christmas Cottage theme)

Just outside the remodeled showroom at Park Place Lexus were not one but two LC 500’s brimming with dolls, toy trucks and other gifts that will give hope to families facing hardship this Christmas. Each year guests donate new, unwrapped gifts as an entry to one of the most generous soirees of the season. The event, which took place November 9, engaged a spirit of giving to the community and provided a valuable platform to share other ways GRACE gives hope to families throughout the year. The generous mound of gifts will be sorted and displayed at the Christmas Cottage, a storehouse located at 3100 Timberline, where qualifying families are given credits for which to “shop” and budget their resources for just the right gifts. Parents are not only given the opportunity to select the gifts their children will love, each household is given a “family gift”, which usually includes