With only eight weeks until the 19th Annual GRACE Gala, local community members attended the GALA Gifting Party that was held at Crush It! Sports Lounge in Grapevine. Attendees were welcomed by this year’s GRACE Gala Co-chairs, Sheila and Jason Ridley, and Crush It! Sports owner, Mike Speets and his staff. Shonda Schaefer, the CEO of GRACE, welcomed everyone and introduced staff and this year’s Gala Auction Committee Chair, Kay Allen. She emphasized the lasting effects on all those whom the Gala proceeds benefit. During the evening, participants enjoyed games, food and drinks and had the opportunity to purchase Gala Raffle tickets for fun door prizes. This year’s Gala raffle is a four-night stay for two with hotel and airfare to the Dominican Republic! Entry into the Gifting Party required a donation to the Gala Auction, and the results from the evening were very generous. Thank you to all those

Even though school is back in session, GRACE still has a plethora of volunteer opportunities that you, your organization, and your family would enjoy. With just over two months before the 19th annual GRACE Gala, we are still in need of volunteers to make this event memorable for everyone involved. Gala volunteers assist with a variety of tasks, such as setup and breakdown, greeting, raffle sales, silent auction and many others. One of the most popular volunteer opportunities we offer for both individuals and organizations is the GRACE Holiday Food distribution. The Holiday Food Distribution is provided to our Clients three to four days before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. This makes the season merrier and the meals tastier for our wonderful GRACE clients as they receive unique holiday dinners such as ham, turkey and pork. During the holiday distribution, volunteers assist with setting up, checking in, bagging food items, and

GRACE’s ability to offer a high degree of accountability and integrity is largely due to the tenure of the GRACE Board of Directors. The collective expertise of the GRACE Board is second to none, and GRACE is pleased to welcome two new community leaders to the slate: Jeff Netzer and Colby Tanner. Jeff was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan on the former Kincheloe Air Force Base. Before turning 18, he lived in five different states while growing up as a military dependent. Jeff is currently the head of Partner Development at PlayStudios, his employer for roughly ten years. PlayStudios is a venture capital startup that provides exciting mobile games like TETRIS™ to millions of individuals all over the world for entertainment and rewards their players with memorable experiences as a way of saying thank yous. When he’s not creating fun mobile games for people all over the world, Jeff

In honor of the Labor Day holiday, all administrative and program sites will be closing at 3:00 p.m. Friday, and reopening Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. The hours will be as follows: Friday, September 2nd: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm Monday, September 5th: CLOSED Tuesday, September 6th: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm All resale sites will remain open and operating at normal hours. For emergency assistance or food, please call 817.602.1204. Have a blessed weekend!

As we wake up and face another day of unknown events, we never knows when that day could be the worst day of our lives. At times, life can lead us on a path we could never imagine we were destined. The best thing to happen in those lowest times is for sheer perseverance and a desire for a change to come together and push us to look for ways to see a better day, a new chapter. For over 20 years, GRACE Transitional Housing has been that better day and new chapter for the families that come through its doors. Though times have changed, the mission to equip families with the tools to succeed and provide the emotional support through that process has not wavered. The program, while full of opportunity, is not easy. Being a success in the Transitional Housing program demands vulnerability that can hurt and motivation

GRACE welcome’s new Assistant to the CEO, Bethany Hardikar! Born in Spring, TX, Bethany has always been very organized in everything that she pursues. That would explain her previous roles working for an academic library and professional organizing. In March Bethany started working for GRACE, taking over for Melissa Simpkins. Bethany attributes Melissa to the easy adjustment, saying that “the transfer would have been much more difficult if Melissa hadn’t come in practically every day and answered every question that I had. Yes, there’s a lot of work, but I have a blast working here.” Bethany is well-known for her positive attitude among her colleagues. She is always cheery and eager to assist anyone at any moment, even when she is busy with work and meetings. Kickboxing, hiking, and rock climbing are some of Bethany’s pastimes. She routinely attends classes at iLoveKickboxing in Bedford and Summit Climbing Gyms in Grapevine

Here at GRACE, we have always had some of the best supporters. Our supporters from past and present are always willing to go above and beyond to help our clients reach their goal of self-sufficiency. For this and more we want to express our gratitude for their outstanding contributions to this wonderful community. Carla Murray-Wolfe was a lively and kind person who always desired to unite everyone for a greater purpose. She was a fervent supporter of GRACE, as was her husband Bill. Monetary donations to GRACE’s programs and donations to Donation Station made up the majority of their charitable contributions. Earlier this year, Carla suddenly passed away from a stroke. Even though it was difficult for her friends and family to say goodbye, they never forgot the love she spread and the idea that we are all in this together for a better cause. “Carla was a cheerful person

As the GRACE Grocery Giveaway (GGG) and Feed Our Kids programs come to an end, we would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to everyone who contributed to the success of this summer. Many kids were fed and families were satisfied thanks to you. This summer brought a lot of heat to Texas. Three days in a row saw highs of 108 degrees, in addition to numerous days that were over 100 degrees with little to no rain. This made certain days quite difficult for everyone working at the six sites. However, both staff members and volunteers stepped up to help the children and families in the community. The Feed Our Kids and GGG programs came to life in the eyes of our community thanks in large part to the contributions of volunteers. Making sure that everyone received what they needed, preparing meals for kids and families,

GRACE would like to welcome our new Special Events Manager, Basha Ramsey. Growing up in Dayton, Ohio, Basha has always been a dedicated leader who strives for excellence. This is shown by the fact that she was a four-year starter and captain of her collegiate basketball team. She is no stranger to the idea that it takes a team to accomplish anything, even as she led her squad to numerous wins along the way. Before taking on her role at GRACE, Basha was a Business Development Representative for Carrier Enterprise in Carrollton, TX. There she was responsible for generating new business opportunities for potential partners and organizations. Basha began working for GRACE back in April, and after less than a month on the job, she was immediately put to the test. Assisting with both GRACE’s Designer Bags and Bingo and Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon, she got quite active by taking on

The polls are in and 2022 Best of Northeast Tarrant County Readers’ Winner is…. GRACEful Buys resale store! Each year, online voting is conducted on behalf of all of the Living Magazine communities to determine the best businesses in the community. Since its conception, GRACEful Buys has won the Readers’ Choice award numerous times and we are incredibly thankful to receive this award for another year. GRACEful Buys is our upscale restore whose proceeds benefit those in need through GRACE programs. GRACEful Buys carries a variety of high-quality items, including clothes and shoes for the family, housewares, home décor, furniture, linens, seasonal, toys, books, jewelry and accessories. All of our merchandise is carefully chosen for quality and is priced below retail. With more than 9,000 items received each week, each day is a new shopping experience. GRACE’s Director of Operations and Resale, Jennifer Rawls, understands that this award is because of the GRACE volunteers, staff,