Saturday is National Pie Day and to celebrate, the Queen of Pies, Judy Balunda of JudyPie has decided to put together a most delicious fundraiser for GRACE! It’s simple, head over to JudyPie located at 520 South Main, Grapevine, TX or call 817-400-PIES…bring five non-perishables, which will be donated to GRACE, and get 25% off your pie order. Five non-perishable items for a delicious pie at a HUGE discount…what’s not to love?! But the offer doesn’t stop there – JudyPie has offered FREE PIE FOR A YEAR to whoever brings in the most items. Helping out the community, a local business, and getting a smoking deal in return for it are the easy parts…figuring out what kind of pie you want is the hard part! Get ready for tomorrow and while you’re there, thank the good people of JudyPie for the heart and soul they put into their pies and the

The GRACE Family is proud to introduce our new Pantry Manager, Marcus Miranda! As Pantry Manger he’s in charge of inventory, organization of commodities, coordinating pick-ups, and furthering the overall mission of our Pantry which is to feed as many people as possible with the best quality foods. Overseeing an operation like this is no small job – Marcus has a large number of staff, volunteers, and clients to look after. Luckily, his time serving in the Navy helped him prepare for a job this complicated. Born and raised in Dallas/Irving, after graduation he signed up for the Navy in part because that is who his father served with. “I wanted to serve my country and to travel…I was stationed in amazing places like Japan, California, and Washington State,” said Marcus. His time in Japan was particularly eye opening… “The courtesy the Japanese have for others had a big impact

Providing good wholesome food could be the most basic and most important service we offer our clients. Our Food Pantry serves as a grocery store and community hub for hundreds and hundreds of our clients. When our community members need food or other goods, they know that they can rely on the friendly faces of the hard working GRACE Pantry staff. But just as important as the employees are to the success of the pantry, volunteers are essential to the success of this program. Whether you’ve volunteered for years or are brand new, we would love to have you help take part in feeding North Texas. “These group shifts at the pantry involve creating food boxes for our clients and assisting in our Food Pantry,” says GRACE Volunteer and Development Coordinator Heather DeMoss. “It’s a fun opportunity to bond with friends, family, or peers by helping the community and GRACE!”

The sign on Texan Trail promises “Coming Soon! GRACE Donation Station, Spring 2021”. Construction and renovations are underway now to make that promise come true. The campaign to raise funds for a new Donation Station was slated to launch in mid-March 2020. COVID-19 had other ideas. Our focus immediately shifted from “bricks and mortar” to providing assistance for thousands of local families. Our donors, too, shifted their generosity to help those struggling during the pandemic. While the timing for a capital campaign couldn’t be worse, the need for a new Donation Station, and the hazards our donors, volunteers, and staff face still remain. If anything, the COVID Crisis provided still another reason for a more efficient, spacious, and better accessible Donation Station. Since March 2019, an average of 3,650 donors drive through Donation Station on Scribner Street each month, equal to 140 cars per day, or one car every 4½

Congregation Beth Israel’s (CBI) 8th Annual Casino Night benefitting GRACE will be taking place online on January 30, 2021 from 7:30pm – 9:30pm! This wonderful event benefitting GRACE and four other amazing organizations – CBI, Jewish Family Services of Ft. Worth and Tarrant County, Stepping Stones Foundation, and the Jordan Elizabeth Harris Foundation – is being held online for the first time ever. CBI put out this statement regarding the tournament… “Since March 2020, all of us have been affected in some way due to the pandemic. Many within our community are hurting in multiple ways, whether with sickness, food insecurity, mental health, job loss, and/or other. It is our goal for this evening to bring some positive energy by hosting this event to benefit some great organizations that do excellent work with at-risk teens, seniors, the hungry, and the most vulnerable in our communities.” CBI is asking you to

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program or VITA is back to help our clients get income tax filing done for FREE! Provided through a partnership with the United Way and GRACE, VITA is designed to help get income tax returns prepared and securely submitted to the IRS at no cost…but we need your help to do it. As difficult as last year was, with God’s guidance and community support, the GRACE programs never ceased functioning. Overall, we were able to serve more than double the amount of families and individuals that we served the prior year. That was over 11,000 individuals in need who received much needed support during a difficult year at best!  Specifically for our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) services which were disrupted substantially due to Covid, we were able to complete 260 returns and place over $550,000 into the hands of the people who earned it!

The GRACE Family is proud to announce Trevor Green as the new Assistant Manager at Donation Station. Trevor has been with the organization for nearly 5 years, most recently working as a Warehouse Associate at GRACEful Buys in Grapevine, but when the position opened – management could think of no better candidate for the job than Mr. Green. Donation Station Manager Kathy Mize is excited to have Trevor in a leadership role. “We love to see our employees grow within the company. Trevor continually tries to develop and challenge himself to grow. He is dependable and is able to multi-task…He has a great sense of humor, likes music, and he’s fun to work with,” said Kathy. When Trevor started with GRACE he didn’t know that he would end up enjoying it so much. “I love the mission and the idea that we get to help people,” Trevor said. ”I also

January 4th through January 10th is Winter Restaurant Week! Winter Restaurant Week is hosted annually by 360 West and Ben E. Keith. Participating restaurants are offering delicious three-course prix fixe dinners for either $29, $39 or $49 and will donate proceeds of $4, $5 or $6 per dinner towards GRACE. Celebrate fine dining and provide vital help to our community at the same time. This year, restaurants are also offering these meals for dine-in OR take out! Restaurants that are supporting GRACE are:   Delucca Gaucho Pizza & Wine Mac’s on Main   The Classic at Roanoke We love this program and absolutely love the restaurants that are participating. We are so grateful to have 360 West and Ben E. Keith organizing this event and so appreciative that these restaurants are still thinking of the community during what has been one of the most difficult times ever for restaurants and their

This year marks the 11th anniversary of the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program. GRACE has partnered with the City of Fort Worth and United Way of Tarrant County to provide free tax preparation to individuals and families who qualify for this program. Last year was an especially difficult year for VITA because of COVID-19 restrictions set in place that changed the service delivery model from ‘in person’ services to ‘drop off’ services only. In addition, as the transition was put in place, the City of Fort Worth and the United Way decided to close the program for several months but were able to extend the services to allow for as many tax returns to be prepared as possible. Even with these unforeseen restrictions, volunteers completed 260 returns, placing over $550,000 back into the hands of the workers who earned it!  The only way this program works is through volunteers

A hobby that turned into a business…a business that turned into a way to give back. Nancy and John Doughney, saw an opportunity to use their considerable skills as stained glass artists to help our community and we couldn’t be more grateful. Retired educators, Nancy and John began creating stained glass pieces over 15 years ago. “I actually saw it on a TV show, thought it was interesting, and went out and bought supplies. After a couple classes, I feel in love and have been doing it ever since,” said Nancy.“Once John retired he started to help and now we work together, it’s wonderful.” Working out of their garage, the Grapevine couple have created a small business thru the hobby that they love, creating unique pieces ranging from windows to Christmas Ornaments.  Around March, the couple decided that they wanted to give back when they realized what our area and