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Julia, a single mother of an autistic teenage son, came to GraceWorks to request a store voucher for clothing for him. In conversation with a GraceWorker, our Neighbor Services volunteers, she opened up about other problems she was experiencing. She is unable to work because she can’t leave her son alone. He has separation issues …
“One of the beauties of servanthood is that it does not require any special talent or special gifts.” This quote I read especially resonates with me not just because of the GraceWorks Neighbor serving Neighbor mission statement, but more because I have seen the most powerful example of this quote as I witness your serving …
Many Neighbors seeking help say they are comforted by the prayers offered by staff and volunteers in conversations about their needs. It’s part of GraceWorks’ mission of Neighbor serving Neighbor. Recently, in the same week, our GraceWorker Manager realized just how strongly our Neighbors believe in the power of prayer. Julie* brought her three children …
What will the new year hold for GraceWorks? Frankly, I don’t know. What I do know is that our sovereign God has it all under control. I recently read a quote that said, “May your history with God compel you to trust Him with your future.” Well, why don’t we take our trust walk into …
“I spoke to the grandmother and thanked her for turning the family’s grief into joy for other children.” At a gathering last month after The Manger, GraceWorks staff members recounted their most heartfelt moments during the annual Christmas gift-giving event. GraceWorks CEO Valencia A. Breckenridge told the story of the Sychantha family, who honored the …
As we close out the end of one calendar year and prepare to step into the next, it is a good time for us to revisit the GraceWorks values set by the Executive Board when they crafted our Neighbor serving Neighbor by the power of God’s grace mission statement. The values that the Board asks …
Nathan was 7 years old when he first walked into The Manger, GraceWorks’ Christmas gift event. To prevent him from seeing the gifts his parents were choosing for his Christmas, his mother sent him over to a section of children’s books. She had taught him to love to read as she did, and she knew …
In a recent conversation, a valued GraceWorks volunteer described himself as a just a volunteer. Volunteers at GraceWorks, (and for that matter anywhere else they serve in community) are worth their weight in gold! In the first quarter of our July/June fiscal year, volunteers gave over 8,547 hours of their time, thereby saving GraceWorks $187,785, …
It was shocking when she revealed her age. Dressed in orange sweats and worn-out tennis shoes, with thinning graying hair clipped to the back of her head, Mae* told her story. “I’m 50 years old,” she said. The lines on her face testified to the difficulty of those 50 years. Mae became a single mother …
In answer to Tina Turner’s popular song “What’s love got to do with it?”, GraceWorks would reply “Everything!” John 13:35 tells us our love for others is one of the ways people can identify that we belong to God. While I am a hopeless romantic who loves to celebrate Valentine’s Day, the love God calls …