For the past fifteen years, the GRACE Community Garden has not only been a source of fresh produce for the local community, but it also serves as an educational resource. With 12 garden plots producing up to 2,500 pounds of organically grown produce a year, it helps supply much-needed nutrients to GRACE families. This year is looking to be a great one for the garden as mother nature has been on our side with ample growing weather! In honor of Earth Day, it only seemed fitting to take a look at what our green-thumbs in the GRACE Community Garden have been up to this spring. As with most activities at GRACE, it’s the volunteers who do the heavy lifting, scooping, raking, and shoveling that gets the job done. Master Gardener Caryn Hutchinson assisted by Robert “Bob” Dansby and Becca Clarke and many more have put so much time and attention

And that’s a wrap on another successful Volunteer Appreciation Week! This week brought us fun entertainment, great activities, and a host of dedicated volunteers, all ready to serve the community – superhero-style! GRACE values the service of each and every volunteer who steps foot on a GRACE site. From sorting clothes at the GRACE Donation Station to serving at GRACE events, GRACE Volunteers go above and beyond to make sure that the community is in good hands! This year’s Volunteer Appreciation Week theme was superheroes because we know that GRACE volunteers are always there to save the day. Many GRACE sites prepared festive parties for their volunteers throughout the week to celebrate their dedication to GRACE. The week concluded with the annual Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon, held at Whites Chapel Methodist Church and catered by WiseGuys Pizzeria and HTeaO. Hosted by Wonder Woman and Captain America, (GRACE CEO Shonda Schaefer and

While you are doing your Spring Cleaning this year, we have one ask for you, please think about Donation Station. The GRACE Donation Station is the entry point to all donated items. Volunteers are always needed during this time. The Donation Station sees over 400 cars a day, with numbers even higher during this time of year. Volunteers play a significant role at Donation Station. Greeting donors, handing out tax receipts and unloading donations, and taking them back inside to be processed, are just some of the major volunteer duties. Other duties at D.S. are sorting, hanging, and tagging donated items. Another idea for your spring cleaning time is to please consider donating to Donation Station. GRACE sees many individuals and families throughout the year, and many of your donations go toward those families who are in need of assistance at this very moment. Your pots and pans, your clothes,

Here at GRACE, we are always open to specialty projects for boy scouts, girl scouts, groups, and individuals who are looking to make a difference in the community. This is exactly what 17-year-old, Anna Hazel, decided to do to complete her Gold Project. Anna Hazel is a sophomore at Nolan Catholic High School and has been an avid GRACE volunteer for over six years. Volunteering for many of GRACE’s programs, especially GRACE’s Feed Our Kids is a highlight of her volunteer experience at GRACE. Anna is an advocate for services towards her community and has organized many projects for organizations throughout the community to benefit families and individuals. This year, she decided to do something a little different. As part of her Girls Scout Gold Award, Anna needed to organize a project that must meet the requirement of sustainability. After much thinking, Anna decided to start her project with 36

Mark your calendar for Saturday, April 22nd for the Tom and Susan Durant Foundation Wine Tasting Event featuring Larry White, level II Sommelier as he pours beautiful wines ranging from bubbly, red, whites and desserts. All proceeds raised will be matched 100% and will go to 13 local community organizations. These include: GRACE, 6 Stones, Gallant Few, RISE Adaptive Sports, Angel Fund of Trinity High School, VAST Community Outreach, Adaptive Training Foundation, Adriana’s Angels, Me Squared, Chari- T 2000, The Salvage Yard, Airborne Angel Cadets and The Tree of North Texas. The wine tasting will take place at Classic Chevrolet in the old Hummer building: 2501 William D. Tate, Building F, in Grapevine. This fantastic event begins at 6:30 PM – perfect for date night, a girl’s night out, or just a fun evening. Tickets are limited! Purchase now here so you don’t miss out. Thank you so much, Tom

This week, GRACE hallways were lined with love and 125 overflowing Easter baskets 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. 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. This year, in addition to the hand-made Easter baskets were hand-written cards addressed to our client families from the wonderful volunteers at LDS! GRACE would not be able to operate without the support of local church congregations with a kindred desire to share God’s love with those in need. We are tremendously blessed to have the family at Good Shepherd

GRACE’s Designer Bags & Bingo (DBB) benefitting Transitional Housing is coming up on May 7th and it is officially SOLD OUT! This event will be an exciting afternoon full of laughter, Bingo, and most importantly, designer bags. This fun twist on Bingo allows players to compete for high-quality designer purses from Coach to Versace and everything in between, which is sure to bring on friendly competition. While individual seats may be sold out, there are still some fabulous sponsorship opportunities available! If you are interested in sponsoring this spectacular event, please contact Mark Woolverton at mwoolverton@gracegrapevine.org for more details. Designer Bags and Bingo is one of GRACE’s annual events that raise funds for GRACE’s impactful program, Transitional Housing. The Transitional Housing program works with homeless individuals and families to help move them toward self-sufficiency. Clients participate in intensive case management to help them achieve educational, career, and financial goals while living

In honor of Earth Day and National Gardening Month in April, two GRACE volunteers took the time to educate GRACE clients on gardens and how to incorporate growing healthy food. Diabetic Educator, Antonio Miranda Ph.D., RD, LD Master Gardener, teamed up with GRACE’s Master Gardener Caryn Hutchinson at this month’s Health Night at GRACE to cover the topic of Growing Organic Foods. This meeting highlighted the importance of healthy eating, smart gardening on a budget, the different types of fruits and vegetables to grow, and much more. GRACE clients were even given a surprise tour of the GRACE Community Gardens by Caryn, in hopes of sparking fresh ideas for personal gardens. “I am so happy Caryn was able to come and help educate our group about the GRACE Community Gardens,” said Antonio. “Many GRACE clients will now be able to grow their own garden while eating healthy and on a

Judy & Tom Hund have been avid volunteers and supporters of GRACE and the community for well over two decades, with a thriving mission of giving back to those in need. After the passing of their son, Daniel, to cancer, the Hunds discovered an honorable way of giving back to the community while also keeping his memory alive. Daniel Hund was a 6’2”, 260lb offensive lineman who played for the 2002 Southlake Carroll State Championship team. After high school, Daniel went on to graduate Cum Laude from TCU with a Master’s in Accounting in 2008. Dan was always into shoes and had a collection of them in his closet. After meeting Barry Rush from the Dallas Cowboys through some mutual friends in 2012, the two developed a bond over shoes – a bond that can never be untied. Daniel passed away at the age of 35 years following an 18-month-long

We are T-Minus 2 weeks away from GRACE’s Volunteer Appreciation week and the annual GRACE Volunteer Appreciation Awards Luncheon- to honor all our real life super heroes in the community. We do not want you to miss out on all the exciting activities we have in store for you! This year, GRACE staff is going all out to make this a perfect week for GRACE Volunteers. Here is just a sneak peek of what will be happening at some of the sites. During the week, GRACE Community Clinic will be passing out gift cards to their volunteers and Client Services will be giving out goodie bags. On Tuesday, April 11th the Donation Station team is gearing up to provide a light breakfast for their Volunteers. This is no ordinary breakfast, this is a Superhero Breakfast full of fruits and Pastries for everyone to enjoy. Volunteers will also have a chance