The Fifth annual GRACE Poker tournament is just a week always, and GRACE would like to introduce this year’s Presenting Sponsor, The Wright Family and Wright Construction Co., Inc.! Established in 1963, The Wright Construction Co. has been a beautiful staple in the city of Grapevine, with the Wright Family being dedicated citizens for even longer. The history of this dynamic family dates back to Mattie Mae Lucas and Lemoine Wright who strongly urged their young son, Joe, on a path that would play a major part in the success of Grapevine. Joe later founded Wright Construction and helped develop many of the major neighborhoods in Grapevine. Along with this, he became an advisor to many public officials who wanted to add to the success of the wonderful Christmas Capital of Texas. After the passing of Joe, his son Lemoine Wright, a namesake from his grandfather, took over the family

With any vehicle, a great deal of attention is required to make sure everything is running smoothly. The engine check, working windshield wipers, and up-to-date oil changes are some of the regular car maintenance that we should always keep constant. However, through the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) Car Care Workshop, our Transitional Housing clients learned of many more car needs that we should check to make sure all of our vehicles are safe on the road. For the second year in a row, NCTCOG collaborated with GRACE to host a workshop for our Transitional Housing clients. This all-inclusive workshop was led by Anthony Moffa, Jason Brown, and others who taught our clients basic care and vehicle maintenance. Clients learned about the importance of taking care of vehicles, the different types of vehicles, and what kind of care they require. Along with the presentation, our clients also had

The 10th Annual Congregation Beth Israel’s (CBI) Wide World of Sports Casino Night is this weekend, and with what is Congregation Beth’s largest event of the year, we hope that you will be there to join us in all of the fun. Established in July 1999, CBI is a vibrant Reform Jewish Congregation committed to providing life-long opportunities for spiritual growth and learning based on Jewish values. Along with promoting spiritual growth, CBI also believes in interfaith inclusion and building commonality through engagement, participation, and volunteerism. This special event will be held at Good Shepherd Catholic Community Hall, 1000 Tinker Road, Colleyville. Attendees can expect an exciting night full of casino games, heavy hors d’oeuvres from Macs On Main, drink tickets, live and silent auctions, raffles, door prizes and so much more. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., gambling will begin at 7:00 p.m., and the auction will begin at 10:00

The Christmas Cottage might be packed up for summer storage but please don’t miss the opportunity for sales! We accept Christmas Cottage donations year round. For drop-off details, please contact Beth Chernik at bchernik@gracegrapevine.org A few ideas to get your thoughts going include but are not limited to: TEEN GIFTS: Fleece/plush lounge pants (men’s & women’s) Fluffy socks/slippers Bath sets LED string of lights Ear buds FAMILY GIFTS: Small Tool Sets Blenders Small counter top size appliances – microwaves, airfryers, crockpot, instapot Bakeware sets Pots & Pans Utensils Packs Bedding STOCKING STUFFERS (close out seasonal items): Bubbles Sidewalk chalk Deck of cards Small games – Uno, Quixx, travel yatzee etc Water Bottles Carabiners/key chains/Lanyards Paracord bracelets Coloring books Crayons/small marker sets Stickers for water bottles Small makeup sets Single matchbox cars Christmas Gift Wrap Ribbon, Bows & Tape Beth Chernik Seasonal Programs Coordinator/Special Events Assistant bchernik@gracegrapevine.org  cell: 817-690-4136

The GRACE Pantry assists individuals and families who face food insecurity on a daily basis. The self-select model is designed to offer variety, respect and self-determination in the types of food each person selects. Last month, there were over 700 visits to the pantry and in addition almost 400 households received holiday food “baskets”. Sadly, hunger is alive and well in our community. GRACE has never tried to be the complete resource for families facing hunger. Instead, we try to fill the gap that these families experience in what they are able to provide and the amount of food that will allow their family to be healthy and active. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP is a very valuable resource offering families the ability to purchase food from area grocery stores. In a recent conference dedicated to hunger and poverty, GRACE staff learned even more about SNAP and it’s

This past week has been a busy prep week for the staff at Grapevine’s newest attraction. Chicken and Pickle opens to the public on January 17th and the unique, indoor/outdoor entertainment complex includes a casual, chef-driven restaurant and sports bar that boasts 12 pickle ball courts and a variety of yard games. On January 12th, GRACE had the amazing opportunity to be included in Chicken N Pickle’s Grapevine Chamber Ribbon Cutting and partnered with them to collect donations at the event. Chicken N Pickle feels it is their “Cultural imperative to our community is to give back, with many philanthropic events and service-oriented endeavors to strengthen our neighborhood and beyond”. They believe in building long-lasting solutions to address the needs of the communities in which we live, work and play. “Our mission is to provide an atmosphere that fosters fun, friendship, and community and we are excited to bring that

GRACE is honored to announce the continuation of a partnership that spans almost two decades with a recent grant award from the Carl B. and Florence E. King Foundation that will help support GRACE’s work with our clients who are 65 years old or better. GRACE’s priority for senior programming seeks to bridge the gap between isolation and aging as well as continue to provide support so that they can maintain an independent lifestyle for as long as possible. GRACE seeks to provide that safety net that many seniors in our community are lacking. Our dedicated volunteers step in to help with small projects around the house, landscaping needs, budgeting assistance, providing transportation, and making sure that the senior is aware of resources available to them including services through GRACE and government benefits. GRACE caseworkers have access to educational resources and will regularly meet with clients, specifically seniors, to advise

Jacob Daniel (Jake) Williamson, 4/8/97—1/2/23 What happens when a twenty-five-year-old dies? We celebrate the cheers and accolades he received in his youth. We marvel at the first missions and victories in his years leading to manhood. We admire his plans and aspirations as he came into his own. We believe he was as strong and as beautiful as he was ever going to be. We know—for some reason—the Lord needed him by His side and called him home. And we grieve over lost promise. All the things he would never do, see, and feel. Desires that would never be fulfilled. Prospects never realized. Wants never satisfied. Courage never shown. But in this we grieve not for Jake but for ourselves. We will never again be witness to Jake’s triumphs. We can never again delight in his smile, his sharp wit, his wise perceptions. We can only pray for solace and

With 2022 coming to a close and a new year upon us, the GRACE Community Gardens is back in action. This program produces healthy and organic foods that go right into the GRACE Food Pantry and is a wonderful place for you and your loved ones to volunteer. The mission of the GRACE Community Garden is to cultivate a healthy community by building collaborations and providing organically grown produce to those in need. The garden produces more than 1,500 pounds of produce each year, with most of the organically grown produce from the garden being donated to the GRACE Food Pantry. The Community Gardens have not only been a source of fresh produce for the community, but it has also served to be an educational resource to many. Volunteers, clients, and the community has a chance to plant, tend to the garden beds and organize the best-suited crops in a

Thank you GRACE Volunteers for your amazing support in 2022! This week, after serving over 875 households, it was time to close the chapter to the 2022 GRACE Christmas Cottage and prepare for the year 2023. However, before we could do that, we needed to store all of our donations, tables, chairs, decorations, and other Christmas Cottage items back into our Storage at Frost Bank. Along with our Christmas Cottage Elves, NCL-Southlake, LDS, YMSL, SASO Inc., and Southlake Carroll Wrestling team (who brought in an astonishing 50-plus volunteers), all participated in GRACE’s Christmas Cottage move-out day. “I have done many projects with teenagers over the years in Southlake as well as with my work at GRACE”, said longtime GRACE volunteer, Lynda Warner. “However, I have never dealt with such an amazing group of young adults. They were always on task, and took initiative, which made this project go very smoothly.”