NEWSLETTER
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Introducing the 2024 Designer Bags & Bingo Sponsors
Get ready for the 4th Annual GRACE Designer Bags & Bingo!
Mark your calendars for May 5th at the Westin Dallas Southlake for an incredible night of designer handbags, bingo, and giving back!
This beloved event benefits GRACE’s Transitional Housing program, helping families and individuals get back on their feet. With the support of our amazing volunteers, we are pulling out all the stops!
Prepare to be wowed by our legendary Parade of Purses (sponsored by Allen Wealth Advisors), featuring jaw-dropping designer bags from Kate Spade, Marc Jacobs, Christian Louboutin, and more! Behind every incredible designer bag stands one of our illustrious designer bag sponsors: Methodist Southlake Hospital, White’s Chapel Methodist Church Women, Decision Financial, Pegasus Logistics, Skylife Wellness, Corinthian Wellness Spa, and Ryan Davis Media.
And the fun doesn’t stop there! Get ready for 10 heart-pounding rounds of designer bag bingo which include an epic blackout round sponsored by the Joanne E. “Jody” Matthews Estate with a breathtaking grand prize. Everyone goes home a winner with our incredible swag bags sponsored by Tekla Promotions. Be sure to holler Bingo loud- and our amazing Bingo Gents for the event will assist you to get your prize! Thank you to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southlake for being our Bingo paddle sponsor.
Just so all get an opportunity to take home prizes, between rounds will be door prizes and table prizes for all in attendance! We are very thankful for our door prize sponsors, Attorney Artemis Kourosh from Pilat and Kourosh Law, PLLC and the spectacular Nikko Blu!
For the first time ever at Designer Bags and Bingo, we are thrilled to present an exclusive silent auction by displaying an exquisite collection of designer handbags. Even if lady luck doesn’t smile upon you during Bingo, you now have the opportunity to bid on and take home one of these coveted treasures. Indulge in some retail therapy and treat yourself to a new stylish accessory!
A special thanks to our valet (sponsored by Reliant Air Conditioning), who will make sure your arrival is smooth and welcoming. In addition, let us not forget the bar (sponsored by the Merrimac Girls) and our bubbly (sponsored by Jennifer Shafer), who are dedicated to adding an exquisite touch of elegance to our guests’ experience!
We also want to express our gratitude to the Golden Ball sponsor, Wright Construction Company, whose sponsorship will increase the excitement of our Bingo rounds. And thanks to our Raffle sponsor (LifeBranch Wealth Partners), for providing our event with an epic raffle drawing this year!
A big shout out to the Dauber sponsor (Fitzgerald Wealth Strategies), who ensures that everyone has the perfect tool for their bingo cards. In addition, let us not forget the Key to a Home sponsor (BNSF Railway), whose generous support emphasizes what the entire event is about – helping individuals and families be able to have a place to call home. A huge thank you to our Décor sponsor (Ben E. Keith), whose support will help transform the venue into a stunning and immersive experience to make the event truly memorable.
We also want to extend a special thank you to our spectacular in-kind sponsors: Mallard Agency, Piattelli Vineyards, Event Art Co., and Kendra Scott. Their contributions mean the world to us!
Because of the generosity of our sponsors, GRACE has the amazing opportunity to fulfill the needs of those in our community. Whether it’s a mother and her children or someone who just needs a helping hand, our sponsors are dedicated to answering the call and changing lives.
We are incredibly grateful for every volunteer, donor, and guest who partners with us in support of the GRACE mission. With the help of generous donors and volunteers, GRACE is able to provide life-changing support to those who need it the most. This is an event you won’t want to miss!
We can’t wait to see you there next Sunday! For more information on Designer Bags and Bingo, please contact GRACE’s Special Events Coordinator, Erica Baker, at events@gracegrapevine.org.
GRACE Main Expands to Meet Growing Demand for Services
To many social service professionals, the Pandemic was as an unprecedented time of need for emergency assistance. Many families who had never experienced navigating a support system to provide for the basic needs of their family were forced to reach out…to a system with which they were unfamiliar. At the same time, an even larger number of families who had been experiencing poverty…some for generations…also needed great assistance as they all tried to find their way through a very difficult time. The need was so great, yet most thought at some point we would return to a time with less need across all economic levels.
Speaking to most social service professionals today might surprise many as the need has continued to climb as food prices, housing costs, medical costs, utility costs etc. have risen to a point where many families cannot meet their basic needs. GRACE is among those service providers who remain concerned by the numbers of individuals and families reaching out for assistance. Most days, there is a line of people requesting services forming way before the doors to our Client Services programs are even open.
The numbers of individuals served on a yearly basis demonstrates this substantial growth in services requested and provided. When looking at the GRACE Pantry, the total visits to the pantry in fiscal year 2021-2022 was 7027. In fiscal year 2022-2023 the total number of visits rose to 11,129. That is a 58% increase in just 1 years. When looking at Christmas and Thanksgiving food distribution, there was a 50 % increase last year when compared to the last 3 years.
The total number of families and individuals served mirrors this increase. During fiscal year 2021-2022, Client Services assisted 7,010 individuals (2,825 households). In the past fiscal year, 2022-2023, Client Services assisted 10,301 individuals (3,789 households). That is a 47% increase in individuals served and the numbers are still rising.
In order to keep up with current needs, it is essential that we increase the number of trained individuals needed to do an in-depth assessment for each of the households presenting to the GRACE office with basic needs. Additionally, new support is needed in transportation as more Pantry orders and pick-ups are needed to keep up with the increase in households who are experiencing food insecurity.
GRACE has been blessed to add additional offices for our growing Client Service department at our Walnut location and we have been able to acquire a new truck for our Pantry to support the growing client needs, our current truck served us well for 20 years.
If you would like a tour of our facilities or want to learn more, please contact our Development Department by emailing mmartin@GRACEGrapevine.org to set up a time.
Volunteer Appreciation Lunch: A Rocking Success
The show has ended and the crowds have headed home, but just like Rock and Roll, our love for our Volunteers will never die!
The set list for this year’s Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon consisted of good food, rockin’ music, and great friends. And— as always— our volunteers showed up and showed out!
We had a blast celebrating all of our volunteers! Congratulations to all of the winners— see the lineup below!
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
LDS Churches of North Tarrant County
Emergency Assistance
Dean Hawks
Donation Station
Coppell ISD Adult Vocational Program
GRACEful Buys Euless
Mike Richardson
GRACEful Buys Grapevine
Joe Koenig
Clothing Room
Margaret Ellis
Food Pantry
Brent Blake
Community Clinic
Nikita Kennedy
Friends & Family
Ann Mammen
Transitional Housing
Monica Huber & Treva Donnely | Faith & Finance Program
Board Member
Robert Warner
Development
Lynda Warner
Special Events
Cassandra Clements
Seasonal Programs
Robert Alonzo
Community Garden
Edie Miller
Volunteer Group
Gateway Church in Southlake
Jake Williamson Youth Volunteer
Taylor Cross
Thank you to all of our Volunteers. Whatever your volunteer experience may be— Whether you volunteer with your school or church, as a member of a community or student volunteer group, if you volunteer every day or once a month— Whatever it may be- your hard work, dedication, and compassion has had— and continues to have— such a positive impact on this community. So to all of our volunteers, thank you!
We’d like to sing our praises to those who helped make this amazing lunch possible. Special thanks to Whites Chapel Methodist Church for providing us with Evan’s Hall and Chef Joey for the amazing food! Thank you to Selph Marketing for providing the photo booth, Rock and Brews for loaning us their amazing artwork, and The T-Shirt Guys for the wonderful band tees!
That’s a wrap on the 2024 Volunteer Luncheon. Thank you and goodnight!
Signpost Dedicated at Donation Station Driveway
Area steel fabricator James Irwin and his family visited GRACE Donation Station on Wednesday, April 17, to commemorate the corner of Lee’s Avenue and Jackson’s Way.
Lee’s Avenue is named after Stella Lee Irwin, James’ spouse, who passed away last year. Jackson’s Way is named after Jackson Paige, James’ grandson, who was called to the Lord’s side at a young age.
Attending the ceremony with James was Jackson’s mother Jessica Battaglia and her children. Other family members included Amy and Jason Brothers, James’ daughter and son-in-law, and their children, and James’ son Bryan Irwin, his wife Jennifer and some of their children as well as other family and friends.
Tarrant County Homeless Coalition Partners with GRACE
GRACE is thrilled to announce a new facet of partnership between ourselves and Tarrant County Homelessness Coalition (TCHC)!
Founded in 1989, TCHC is known for its incredibly impactful work assisting the unhoused. GRACE has utilized training and resources provided by TCHC to educate staff and offer assistance to struggling families. However, this new facet comes in the form of funding! GRACE has been selected as a recipient of the recent Day 1 Funding Grant facilitated by TCHC, and we’re thrilled! This funding will allow us to continue to meet the rising need of our clients for affordable housing.
Honored to Serve: GRACE Assists Veteran and His Family
In March, GRACE was able to step into the story of a single father of two young girls who had never asked for help before but, after experiencing a sudden job loss, needed GRACE. As a Veteran, he had VA benefits, but they were not enough to sustain the cost of living for him and his girls. The life savings he had been using to fill the gaps while looking for work were swiftly depleting.
Enter GRACE.
After meeting with a GRACE Care Manager, this single dad shared that even though he immediately began searching for another job in November, the job market had been difficult for his particular field and he had yet to find a new position. Our care manager was able to help review his situation in full, prioritize greatest areas of need, and, ultimately, GRACE was able to assist with rent, utilities and provide him with six months of access to the Food Pantry to alleviate the current financial pressure so that he could be freed up to focus on his job search.
Through partnerships and connections in the community, the GRACE care manager was further able to assist in connecting him to supportive services available for him and his family through City Square and Volunteers Of America. These referrals will connect this family with services specific to Veterans and will be able to provide future assistance with rent/utility payments, and guidance on the benefits and services this client has earned after faithfully serving our country for so many years.
GRACE is thankful for his service to our country and honored that we were able to assist him and his family during this time of financial uncertainty.