A Grapevine nonprofit says it’s seeing more need than ever before-- even compared to last year.
"I cannot put my finger on why," says Shonda Schaefer, CEO of GRACE in Grapevine. The pandemic doubled the number of clients GRACE typically serves, and the numbers just keep going up. "All of my guesses would have been that we would have seen a slight slowdown now that things are starting to get back to normal. But we have seen just the opposite. We are seeing more people this year than we did over the last two years."
Starting tomorrow, GRACE is powering up its Christmas Cottage to give free toys to parents and help them have a picture-perfect holiday without going into debt.
"Families are still struggling to stabilize," Schaefer says. "They may be back at work, but they could also have debt they need to pay off."
At the Christmas Cottage, parents are guided through a Christmas-themed wonderland, there they're able to trade points for a few presents per child. They'll also leave with other holiday essentials like wrapping paper, stocking stuffers and batteries.
"We want it to be a fun experience," Schaefer says. "So it's decorated, there's homemade cookies ..."
More than 600 families have signed up and the nonprofit is expecting to serve more than 2,400 kids through the Christmas Cottage this year.
"The holidays are a perfect time to get involved with a nonprofit," says Schaefer. "But here's the reality: Come [springtime] ... we're a little bit forgotten by our volunteers and donors. I would just pray that families would remember the nonprofits that they're serving over the holidays year-round."
Schaefer says GRACE is thankful for all donations, but right now, it needs batteries and ham. For more information about how to donate, click here.
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow NewsRadio 1080 KRLD