The last of the plastic folding picnic tables are making their way to storage. Over the noon hour today, Home Depot volunteers in bright orange t-shirts gave out the last lunches of summer to children living in the Ticknor Terrace apartments across the street from the GRACE Main offices on East Walnut Street. The smiling eyes above colorful facemasks, the muffled giggles, and grateful “thanks” shouted through layers of fabric are memories to the hundreds of volunteers who braved this very challenging Feed Our Kids season. Concerns about COVID-19 exposure were simply added to the fears of torrential downpours, lightning strikes, and blistering heat for the volunteers who served eleven weeks at six sites throughout the city. In all, more than 32,000 lunches were given to hungry children during this 14th season of GRACE Feed Our Kids, according to Lori Stevens, GRACE Seasonal Programs Manager. It is a bittersweet time

Last week GRACE CEO, Shonda Schaefer, had the opportunity to sit down and virtually chat with the one and only Mr. Robert Earley, CEO and President of JPS Health Network. A political science graduate from the University of North Texas, Robert Earley was only 23 when he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, where he served for 10 years. Before joining JPS Health Network in 2005 as a senior vice president focused on community and government affairs, he taught college courses at Texas A&M, ran an Austin-based public affairs firm and served as a TV political analyst. Earley was named interim president and CEO in May 2008 and was named president and CEO in February 2009.  Earley holds a master’s degree in healthcare administration from the University of Texas at Arlington. He serves on the board of the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute. Click HERE to watch GRACE

Food insecurity guides the lives of many families in north Tarrant County. GRACE has been at the forefront to bring food into at-risk neighborhoods in our communities. This year, NBC 5 and Telemundo 39 have joined the fight. A Project Innovation grant from the Comcast NBC Universal Foundation has helped GRACE extend programs to feed those in need. Last week, NBC 5/Telemundo 39 joined GRACE at the Community Outreach Center in Grapevine to witness the Feed Our Kids and GRACE Grocery Giveaway programs in action. The segment was recorded for air tonight, Friday, July 31, during the nightly newscast. “Hunger is everywhere,” said Stacy Pacholick, GRACE Chief Program Officer. “You’ll find it in our affluent neighborhoods, gated communities, condominiums. Wherever there are people, there will be hunger.” Nearly 20% of the people in Tarrant County—1 in 5—experience some sort of food insecurity.  One-quarter of the children attending Grapevine-Colleyville ISD schools

Jennifer Rawls came to GRACE just as the coronavirus pandemic was hitting headlines. There is never a good time to take over a massive resale operation like GRACE’s, but for Jennifer it has truly been one for the record books. “Hit the ground running” woefully pales to describe the actions Jennifer has taken in her first months at GRACE. “Hit the clouds flying”—“soaring” may be a more apt description. GRACE has been blessed over the years to have the exact right person in the right place at the right time. This is exceptionally true in Jennifer’s case. Jennifer brings to GRACE a career’s experience in marketing, merchandising, and advertising with Michaels, the Dallas-based arts and crafts conglomerate. In her fifteen years with Michaels,  Jennifer launched numerous product lines, marketing programs, and brand partnerships. With the inclusion of social media as a marketing tool, Jennifer transformed the Michaels marketing calendar into

One of the most meaningful moments in the GRACE calendar is the welcome a new Transitional Client gets when she first enters her new apartment. Ordinarily, the small efficiency is packed shoulder-to-shoulder with well-wishers. Earlier this week, GRACE welcomed Ms. C and her baby boy into her new home. [NOTE: We will refer to the alias “Ms. C” in this article to represent our client. As with all clients, GRACE strives to protect the security of those we serve by shielding their identities in public settings and publications.] This time, in order to protect Ms. C, her son, and the throng of GRACE staff and volunteers who formed the welcoming committee, a virtual home blessing was performed. GRACE Transitional Housing Manager Brittany Flewellan was on-site at the GRACE apartment and welcomed Ms. C. Brittany then introduced the dozens of Zoom attendees beaming from the laptop screen. Representatives from White’s Chapel

With the next school year coming better into focus, GRACE is preparing for an entirely new Back-To-School experience—and the key is flexibility. For nearly ten years, GRACE has partnered with school districts to provide supplies for thousands of elementary, middle school, and high school students each year. In addition, the GRACE Clothing Room provided apparel, shoes, jackets, winter coats, and other clothing needs. As a rule of thumb, GRACE prepared school supplies, backpacks, accessories, electronic and technology needs for the number of children in the district who participated in the Free and Reduced Lunch program. This year, many students will start the new school year in a virtual classroom, then transition to an actual classroom in the fall. Their needs are certain to shift as well. On average, local families spend about $635 on Back-To-School shopping, according to the National Retail Federation. In normal years, Back-To-School drives by churches, social

Style & GRACE will officially close its doors for good on Saturday, August 29. The high-end clothing boutique will go out with a bang—major sales now through the month of August. Jennifer Rawls, GRACE Resale Director, is quick to note Style & GRACE is not “going out of business”, but it is a measured business decision based on many factors. The lease for the store space in the Vineyard Marketplace at Glade Road and Highway 121 is up for renewal in September. With the growth along the Highway 121 corridor, including the new Glade Parks development from Grapevine to the Mid-Cities area, a storefront like Style & GRACE now commands a significant price. GRACE opened the GRACEful Buys Euless shopping center in 2015 to pair with GRACEful Buys Grapevine. Both stores offer a full range of clothing, housewares, décor, and furnishings. Last year, GRACE Resale established GRACEful-E, an online outlet

The GRACE Development Team is proud and honored to welcome Christina Cates as our new Special Events Manager. Christina will oversee the activities of the GRACE Gala, the Designer Bags & Bingo event, and other GRACE-initiated fundraisers and events. She will also guide and promote events conducted by businesses, churches, and other community groups to benefit GRACE. Christina comes to GRACE from The LIFT Office in Grapevine where she served as community manager for two years, planning and executing events for LIFT Office members. Previously, she arranged and conducted events, workshops, and community engagement activities for The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM). She interned with Every Orphan’s Hope in Lusaka, Zambia, developing and implementing extensive after-school programs and summer camps for orphaned children in the rural parts of Zambia. Christina is committed to building communities and creating a positive culture to help form a better future for generations to come. She

“Today’s high is expected to reach 97 degrees.” Most of us wouldn’t bat an eye to hear this on the morning news. This is exactly what is expected at the end of July in our neck of the woods. Yet, to the women and their small children in the GRACE Transitional Housing apartments, it means another blistering day fighting ancient window AC units. Nearly three-quarters of the Transitional Housing clients in these apartments have been furloughed or laid off from their jobs, so many are at home practically all day. And their air conditioners are running 24 hours a day. Dedicated volunteer groups renovate each apartment ceiling-to-floor after a family moves out and before another one arrives. New appliances, housewares, furnishings, bedding—nearly everything is replaced, except for the air conditioners. They remain year-after-year-after-year. Each apartment has two small window units—one in the bedroom and one in the front of the

The message of Mission In The Marketplace was essential in February. Now, in the face of a global pandemic and the effect COVID-19 has had on our day-to-day lives, the meaning of Mission In The Marketplace has compounded multi-fold. On February 20, “Mr. Cowboy” Bob Lilly, Veronica Cochran, CEO of  the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), and three-time Super Bowl champion and US Air Force fighter pilot, Chad Hennings, addressed an overflow crowd at White’s Chapel United Methodist Church in Southlake. Their goal was simple: To inspire Christians to openly share their faith at work for the purpose of growing God’s Kingdom. Yesterday, the organizers of the event met with GRACE CEO Shonda Schaefer to express how important the focus of Mission In The Marketplace is in today’s world. Traci Bernard of Texas Health Southlake, Ian MacLean of Highland Landscaping, and Rev. Sterling Smith of White’s Chapel UMC, met via Zoom to