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Grapevine Relief And Community Exchange — G.R.A.C.E. |
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The Grapevine Relief And Community Exchange is a non-profit charitable mission that began in 1987 as a joint outreach of nine local churches, including representatives from cities, schools and local civic organizations. Today, by partnering humanitarian efforts with United Way and many local organizations, GRACE operates as one of the largest civic and non-denominational, ecumenical projects in North Texas.
In the spirit of God's grace, GRACE provides food, clothing, vital necessities, and counseling services to help people who are going through difficult times. |
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| 2011 GRACE Gala WOWs All, Especially Sheri Brunson! |
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This past Saturday nearly 700 people celebrated the "Angels Among Us" event at the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas.
Good Shepherd Catholic Community received the 2011 Angel of GRACE Award for generosity of spirit and support for GRACE.
Our thanks go out to the 2011 Gala Co-Chairs Nicole and Mike Tesoriero and all of the community volunteers and supporters who helped make this Gala one of the best.
Congratulations to Sheri Brunson for winning a brand new Chevrolet Camaro at the 8th Annual GRACE Gala on October 15. Sheri owns Cinch Cleaners of Keller, Roanoke, and Justin. Her daughter was particularly excited to arrive at school in a shiny new convertible!
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| Tesorieros to Chair 2011 GRACE Gala! |
 We are thrilled to annouce that Nicole and Mike Tesoriero of Southlake Style and NET Business Resource magazines have agreed to chair this year's GRACE Gala!
In a statement released yesterday, the couple expressed their excitement at being involved in the event, which will be held on October 15th, 2011. "We're thrilled to be able to help with GRACE's biggest fundraiser of the year." the statement read.
The couple also put out a call for community members who are interested in serving on one of the six committees that need to be staffed. "If you know anyone who has a passion for helping others, ethusiasm, time and energy, we've love to have them on board." Committees include sponsorship, auction, raffle, table sales, VIP party and logistics.
Please contact GRACE's Mark Woolverton at mwoolverton@gracegrapevine.org for more information about committees or to get signed up.
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| GRACEful Buys Gets New Home On The Web! |
 Thanks to Carita Weaver and the great people over at i5 web works, GRACEful Buys now has its own corner of the internet. The new site, at www.gracefulbuys.com, launched last week and is a truly awesome representation of the new look and branding of the store that was put in place in spring of 2010.
The site gives the store a better opportunity to reach those searching for great prices for clothing, furniture, home décor and electronics. It also gives web surfers faster access to information about the store and its weekly specials. |
| GRACE Christmas Cottage Will Open in December |
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 The Christmas Cottage is a program that provides families with Christmas gifts for their family at no cost to them. What makes our program unique is that we allow our clients to make their own selections of gifts for their family. Each family is given a budget based on their family size. They "shop" in the cottage among age appropriate items that are given a dollar value that is approximate to Walmart. This way, they not only get to choose the gifts that they know their children will like, but they are learning to budget and understand the value of what they are being given. It really helps the parents maintain a sense of diginity since they are able to maintain a level of privacy.
This year we expect to provide gifts for more than 1,500 individuals. So, you can see...we're going to need a lot of cookies! All donations must be unwrapped, that way we know what the items are and can place them in the age and gender appropriate section. Each family that shops with us is given all of the wrapping paper, tape and bows that they will need to wrap their own gifts, so we also need lots of those things donated as well!
Gifts for teens are usually in shortest supply. Great teen gifts are gift cards ($10, $15 & $20 denominations), movie tickets, DVD's and CD's to name a few. We also run low on our family gifts which are things like small appliances, towel sets, dish sets and things like that. Each family gets to select on "family gift".
The GRACE Christmas Cottage is a wonderful program that is a reflection of this community's spirit of giving. To find out more about this and other GRACE programs, see our website at: www.gracegrapevine.org.
If you would like more information about donations, volunteering or gift bells, please contact GRACE Seasonal Programs Manager Lori Stevens at lstevens@gracegrapevine.org.
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| GRACE Kudos 2009 |
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$443, 546 Events Revenue in 2009 was 10 times GREATER than in 2003!
+ Food pantry provided food for 4,197 individuals at a value of $468,022
+ Distributed holiday food baskets to 1,075 families wit a total value of $75,873
+ Christmas Cottage made the season brighter for 2,475 individuals in 632 families
+ Clothing room provided clothing for 2,949 individuals
+ Medical clinic helped 837 patients, of whom 137 sought help for the first time
+ Transitional housing gave homes to 25 adults and 21 children and provided $122,475 worth of financial assistance including rent
+ Feed Our Kids program servied more than 500 kids each day during the summer
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| 2010 GRACE 'Shining Star' Annie Zvonecek |
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Annie Zvonecek, GRACE volunteer, has been selected as their 2010 'Shining Star'. The Annual Shining Stars luncheon honors outstanding volunteers from North Tarrant County charity organizations. This event is highly anticipated each year and is The Arts League’s signature fundraiser. The purpose of this luncheon is to raise funds to support Arts Council Northeast while recognizing outstanding women volunteers (Shining Stars) for outstanding service to the community.
The Arts League is a dynamic group of North Tarrant County community ladies who share a passion for the arts and believe that cultural and artistic opportunities should be open to the entire community and not to just a privileged few. Arts League members are dedicated to ensuring that such opportunities are available through support of Arts Council Northeast where The Arts League has proudly served as a fundraising arm since 1985.
For luncheon tickets and more information, contact www.shiningstarsartleague.com.
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| GRACE Outreach to Health Clinic |
Clinic Needs OTC Meds Help
The GRACE Outreach to Health Community Clinic is in serious need of "Over The Counter" medications. If you have access to any of these items in bulk or can afford to add a few to your next shopping list, the clients of GRACE would really appreciate it!
Eye drops (allergy and dry eye formulas)
Cough medicine (similar to Robitussin DM)
Allergy medications (Claritin, Zyrtec or generics)
Baby aspirin (81 mg)
Multi-vitamins
Calcium
Fish Oil capsules
Naproxen (Aleve or generic)
Ibuprofen (Advil or generic)
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| GRACE Dental Program Off to a Smiling Start! |
GRACE Dental Program Becoming A Reality!
"We held our first dental screening Tuesday night the 9th during our regular Acute Care Clinic. Dr. Brian Martin, a local dentist in Grapevine screened over 20 patients in two and a half hours. During the screening process, we uncovered several clients who were in pain and need to have tooth extractions, and many that have cavities that need to be filled. We are now in the process of prioritizing the clients for services and scheduling them to have the work performed. This program is so exciting, and I want to thank everyone involved in helping get it off the ground. More information will be coming in future newsletters about how you can support the program to ensure its continued success", per Amy Holcomb, R.N.
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GRACE Pantry: Items Needed Now |
For a complete list of current needs, check the GRACE website under 'Pantry Needs', at www.gracegrapevine.org.
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| GRACE Receives Speedway Children's Charities Grant |
The mission of Speedway Children's Charities is to care for children in educational, financial, social, and medical need in order to help them lead productive lives. And what better way to achieve that here in our community than through GRACE! Nearly half of all GRACE clients are children, but we send a wholehearted thank you out to Speedway Children's Charities for supporting and enriching the lives of all our families! At last month's Tree Lighting and Grant Ceremony, GRACE was awarded a Partner Grant by SCC to help support the Feed our Kids and Christmas Cottage Programs.
With Speedway Children's Charities generosity and the support of a caring community, GRACE will continue to bring relief to thousands of children in need!
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Services
GRACE provides benevolent services without regard to race, age, sex, nationality or creed.
Currently, the operations of GRACE are housed in the locations listed below. The combined resources provide food, clothing and other emergency assistance to people who are in need in Grapevine, Colleyville and Southlake. Resources and case management are directed toward developing self-sufficiency, while giving families and individuals the immediate assistance they may need to overcome setbacks in their lives.
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GRACE - Adminstrative Offices
Client Services, Clothing Distribution, Volunteers, Christmas Cottage
610 Shady Brook Drive
Grapevine, Texas 76051
817 488-7009 |
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112 N. Scribner
Grapevine, Texas 76051
817 416-6939 |
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418 E. Northwest Hwy.
Grapevine, Texas 76051
817 481-6254 |
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| New Website Launches for GRACE |
June 15, 2009. "After months of development, the new GRACE website has officially launched. Thanks to a donation from Brian Zvonecek of Texas Insurance Exchange and the expertise and generosity of Michael Burns and Carita Weaver of i5 web works, the new site is a dramatic improvement in terms of usability, functionality and scalability. Over the coming weeks and months, we will continue to develop specific areas of the website to better convey the wonderful mission of GRACE, so check in often and watch us grow!" The address for the site remains the same, www.gracegrapevine.org. |
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