Local Mission and Service

Alternative Gift Fair
In lieu of purchasing unneeded “stuff” for those loved ones for the holiday, the Alternative Gift Fair gives Grace members the opportunity to make Christmas season donations to designated charities in honor of their friends and family. Products from SERRV (Sales Exchange for Refugee Rehabilitation Vocation), Habitat for Humanity and other groups are sold directly.

August Angels
The Koinonia Foundation August Angels program provides needy children in the Franconia area with new school supplies and clothing at the start the school year. Grace members donate items every August to support the Foundation’s efforts.

Cameron Elementary
Cameron Elementary School is a Fairfax County Public School located at 3434 Campbell Drive in Alexandria (off Franconia Road). Grace Youth provide gifts to families as a service project. These are great opportunities to make a difference in the life of a child.

CROP Table/CROP WalkP is the name given to community, interfaith hunger education and fundraising events sponsored by Church World Service. On Sundays during the summer months Grace members bring their garden produce and baked goods for others to enjoy in exchange for a donation to CROP. The CROP Walk, sponsored by the Burke-Springfield Clergy Group, is held the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

Dana House Mentoring/Homestretch
A former member generously bequeathed their home to Grace Church, which has allowed the us the unique opportunity to provide shelter to a family experiencing some level of transition in their life. The program includes our members serving as mentors in support of the family.

ECHO (Ecumenical Community Helping Others)
ECHO is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization whose purpose is to help people in need in our community. Grace was one of the founding members in 1968 and is now one of 26 participating congregations. Volunteers receive and sort donations, assist clients, or pack food. Whatever your area of interest or expertise there’s certainly a job you can do at ECHO.

Evangelism Team
The Evangelism Team helps Grace’s members experience personal and spiritual growth through discussion, prayer, and one-on-one meetings. Evangelism is the process of sharing the gospel to bring people into the faith of Jesus Christ. Join us as we pray, care, and share.

Grace Visitors
Efforts are made to connect with people visiting Grace for the first time. Home visits and personal outreach are some of the roles of this group. The goal is to extend the warm experience they had at the church and answer any questions they have about our faith and our community.

Nurturing Parents Partnership with Fairfax County
This program is a Fairfax County-based initiative focused on building basic family skills. Grace has partnering with the county and hosts this 12-week program on Thursday evenings. In conjunction with other neighborhood churches, Grace provides dinner and babysitting for the participants. Volunteer facilitators and childcare workers are needed for each session. Training is provided for volunteers.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Gang
The PB&J gang prepares 500 sandwiches each week for the area hungry. The group meets on Wednesday mornings at 7:30am and they make quick work of it – usually finshed between 8:30 and 9:00am.

Thanksgiving Baskets
Every year, Grace prepares and delivers Thanksgiving Baskets to needy families in the community. Families are assigned by ECHO or recommended by staff and members of the congregation. The preparation and delivery process requires volunteers to ensure this special holiday ministry is completed the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

Tutoring
The Grace Tutoring Program begins its 20th year this fall. The program has helped over 300 children by developing a caring relationship between a student at Crestwood or Garfield Elementary and a church volunteer. Each volunteer is a special friend and a helper with homework for one hour on Monday evenings, beginning in October through the end of May. The program needs tutors and substitute tutors for this school year.

Relay for Life

Relay for Life has raised over $3 billion dollars to fight cancer research since its founding in 1986 through the generosity of the American public.  I am registered online and The Beatsen's are long standing members of Grace and their daughter, Lauren has a personalpersonal fundraising web page. It explains what Relay For Life is in more detail and has information on why I chose to get involved. It  also has Lauren's fundraising goal and tracks the money I’ve raised so far.

Those who battle with this disease daily are the strongest people I know and I am doing this event to raise money for them. For my wonderful dad, grandfather, best friends’ mom, aunt, uncles and all of the people around the world dealing with cancer, I want to give back for all they have done to fight.

See Relay for Life page for more informatoin from Lauren.