MAJOLIE’S STORY

The following is the first of three life stories told by three courageous Transitional Housing clients, and recent recipients of the Kathee Livengood Foundation Scholarship. Majolie was born in Cameroon, West Africa. At age nine, she was adopted by a missionary family after her father passed away and mother went missing. Although Majolie had siblings, they were dispersed to other families within the village. She grew up in a loving, mission-minded home in Oklahoma, with the conviction that God had a call in her life. Majolie later married a man she met on Christian Mingle and moved to Michigan, where her husband was from. Majolie’s husband came from the belief that man rules over the woman, and every effort for her success was met with malice. His constant harassment at her workplace made her lose her job. She wasn’t allowed access to their finances, and he followed her with his

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WELCOME DONORS AT THE DONATION STATION DRIVE

You’ve probably driven past Donation Station, spotted it after breakfast at Old West Café, or even donated gently-used items through the Donation Station drive. Donation Station houses all the items given by the community, such as clothing, housewares, linens, toys and books to provide assistance to those in the midst of hardship. Your donation gives families hope when they wonder how they’ll be able to clothe their growing children, or manage their electric bill. Before any goods are placed on the resale shop shelves or in a client’s home, volunteers are needed to sort and process each item received. To be the best stewards of our in-kind item donations, the staff and volunteers work hard to ensure every item given reaches its fullest potential. Donation Station received 3,946 donations last month, which amounts to an estimated 120 cars a day. The multitudes of items we receive require stewardship, strategy, and elbow

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HELP FAMILIES PLAN FOR THE FUTURE AS A VITA VOLUNTEER

Help us meet a critical need for volunteers so families may receive an optimal tax return next season! Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) is a free tax preparation program that is offered to qualifying families at GRACE sites. If you share the same affection for spreadsheets and numbers as you do spiders and tightrope walking, take heart in knowing there are several volunteer types to choose from. Tax Preparers, Intake Specialists and Interpreters help families with the process, and no volunteer is liable for errors. No prior qualification is required, and each volunteer receives ample training. Last year volunteers helped families discover over $150,000 in Earned Income Credit and over $43,000 in Child Tax Credit. This effort supports GRACE’s mission to restore financial stability for families by helping them accrue a healthy savings account. The achievement for each family creates a ripple effect that is far reaching, including the intangible

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SOUTHLAKE STYLE EVENT PROCEEDS BENEFIT TRANSITIONAL HOUSING PROGRAM

Southlake Style is teaming up with GRACE’s Transitional Housing program as the 2017 beneficiaries for their encore Empowered Women’s Luncheon. A portion of ticket and event sales will provide support displaced women and men through GRACE’s Transitional Housing program. Guests will hear keynote Merrilee Kick, President of BuzzBalls and Southern Champion, LLC and EY Entrepreneurial Winning Woman of 2016, titled “Flourishing in the Face of Failure”. Merrilee Kick persevered with a dream to launch her own wine and spirits company while working long days as a school teacher in Plano. Since founding in 2009 the companies now generate $20M in revenue, inspiring to relentlessly pursue their passion. This is an ideal event to get your friends together over the workweek to be empowered and know that your ticket proceeds equip Transitional Housing clients to thrive as well. The luncheon will be catered by Scratch Kitchen and will take place Friday,

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GRACE MOBILE FOOD PANTRY DELIVERS

GRACE’s Mobile Food Pantry program ensures perishable produce and bread donated at the end of the week are given at neighborhoods where residents are most vulnerable to food insecurity. The program has worked seamlessly in conjunction with our Feed Our Kids program, and the experience has been richly rewarding for volunteers and receivers alike. The tables are set up like a farmer’s market, stocked with delectable fruits and kitchen staples, such as watermelon, onions, corn and sweet potatoes. In just 5 weeks, GRACE’s Mobile Food Pantry has been able to give bagged groceries to 996 family members to feed 216 households. That means if you lined a watermelon from end to end for every individual who picked up bags of groceries, they would travel from Macs on Main all the way to Main Street Bakery! There are exciting negotiations underway to explore the possibility of continuing GRACE Grocery Giveaway throughout the year.

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TAKE A SNEAK PEEK AT YOUR RAFFLE PRIZES

Support GRACE programs by participating in the GRACE Gala raffle. 100% of all proceeds further the GRACE mission by bringing food, clothing, shelter, education and medical care to families experiencing hardship in Northeast Tarrant County.   2017 is the year for bonus packages, giving you a greater chance of winning one of FOUR prizes! What’s better than staying at a lakeside retreat? One that’s less than a three-hour drive away! This year’s six-bedroom Marina Manor is nestled in the bends of the Brazos River at Possum Kingdom Lake, just a few minutes from the cliffs. The winner gets the use of a 2017 Classic Chevrolet suburban to unwind with up to 15 of their friends for three days, with access to fishing, hiking, kayaking—and those with the need for speed—jet skis. You might want to throw on some shades for the next sneak peek:  a 18kt white gold sapphire and

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SAVE THE DATES FOR TAX-FREE WEEKEND

Tax Free weekend isn’t only about saving a few dollars, it’s an invitation to shop local and support our resale efforts at GRACE. Friday through Sunday, August 11-13, is the perfect time to text a shopping buddy or take a family member to find envious deals at a fraction of retail price. Both GRACEful Buys locations are known for their furniture, and customers are also delighted to fill their closet with great finds or their weekend with a fun DIY project. Style & GRACE houses the best designer deals on clothing, accessories and jewelry. Shoppers quickly become regulars thanks to the personal touch by sales staff. Every dollar generated from our resale store supports emergency relief to our neighbors in need. As much as we cherish the opportunity to give customers a great deal, we are thrilled to know their purchase played a role in restoring hope to a single

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YOUTH TAKE OVER THE SUMMER

Check out this week’s gallery to see how local youth is serving and being served FIRST PRESBYTERIAN SENDS LITTLE HELPERS The First Presbyterian Grapevine (FPGV) congregation gives a ministry collection to the GRACE Food Pantry to purchase staples such as eggs and butter, and this week they also put some kiddos to work during FPGV’s Children’s Mission Week. NCL SOUTHLAKE ASSEMBLES OVER 100 BACKPACKS We can always count on our wonderful National Charity League (NCL) community to serve in various ways. Members assembled $4,000 work of supplies that were given by the NCL Foundation grant. Several volunteers from NCL Southlake spent time sorting and stuffing backpacks for next week’s Back to School fair. Each backpack carries essential supplies for children from elementary age through high school. Historically, GRACE has dispensed up backpacks for up to 350 schoolchildren each year, and meets the Back to School clothing needs of approximately 1,000

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GALA COUNTDOWN: LESS THAN ONE MONTH AWAY

The GRACE Gala, Northeast Tarrant County’s most prestigious black-tie charity event, will take place on Saturday, October 14, 2017 at the Hyatt Regency DFW International Airport. Individual tickets are $325, and a table of ten is $3,000. Sponsorships for ample exposure, preferred seating and exclusive event access begin at $3,500. In-kind sponsorships are also available.  Join us for the 14th Annual GRACE Gala on Saturday, October 14 at the Hyatt Regency DFW International Airport. The black-tie event boasts gourmet food and spirits, Silent and Live Auctions and dancing to the music of renowned Emerald City Band. For three decades, GRACE has been a haven for families facing crisis in Greater Northeast Tarrant County, providing food, clothing, shelter, education and medical care. As the agency’s largest singular fund-raising event, the GRACE Gala has since become known as the premier black-tie event in Northeast Tarrant County. This year the Gala Committee is unveiling cutting edge technology and new

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COMPASS CHURCH NAVIGATES MEMBERS INTO SERVICE

Not only did the members of Compass Christian Church respond to a local senior’s need, they carried a simple project beyond anything the grateful homeowner could have expected. The original project was to repaint the trim of the senior’s home, but when the families saw the additional work that needed to be done, they were compelled to take action. The families replaced a portion of the fence, removed dry rot and repaired a cedar beam inside the senior’s home. The homeowner also had cumbersome overgrowth in her lawn, as well as hazardous poison ivy that she had been physically unable to tackle. According to Compass Church member Melissa Zihlman, it became important to make the space more than livable; they wanted it to be a home the senior could take pride in. “It was a two month project, but knowing that our neighbor benefited from our work was worth it,”

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