It was Christmas Time during the pandemic and local Leanne Rhodes was trying to get rid of some of her son’s unused toys. She put up an ad online saying they were free, and a woman came to pick them up. As Leanne was helping the woman load her car, she broke down crying. She told Leanne that she and her husband had lost their jobs because of the pandemic, and that the only way to give their son Christmas was by giving them rewrapped donated gifts.
This encounter inspired Leanne to get together with some friends and put together a toy drive to help families in need. That year they had over 100 people come out. They did it again the next year and had 200 people. This most recent year they had 400 people come out. The success of this yearly drive innspired Leanne to create a full fledged non-profit, which she named “Tides of Grace” to give needed items and services to the community on a monthly basis. Every month they pick a different item or service like prom dresses or shoes and collect the items to give back to the community.
The items they giveaway aren’t just for low income families, but anyone who could use a little help. Leanne herself recently was in a position of need: four years ago when her son was born he was diagnosed with stage four cancer. “I wasn’t low-income,” Leanne explained to me, “but I was paralyzed with emotions, I didn’t have the brain capacity to do lots of things…somebody offered to take family pictures for Christmas for us and it was a huge stress off our shoulders.” In June, Tides of Grace will have a wedding photographer to take pictures of expecting mothers while giving away items for new parents.
In April, Leanne was invited to attend a Power of 100 meeting. The date of the event was her daughter’s 17th birthday. “I originally wasn’t going to go,” Leanne explained to me, “but I just felt this whisper in my heart and I decided I was going to go. I didn’t know the reason but I knew I was supposed to be there.” Leanne didn’t go expecting to receive Power of 100’s grant, thinking she would just network with local women. “My non-profit was so new…I felt like a tadpole in a big pond,” Leanne joked. Upon receiving the grant Leanne was awestruck, “I’m not one to cry but I cried my eyes out…I had been worried about paying for storage and this was such a blessing.”
Leanne says the XXX grant they received has been a huge help. She used part of the money to pay rent on the space where they store the donations they receive.She used the rest of the money to buy a trailer to transport the items, which before would require as many as ten cars to get from place to place.
On Tides of Grace’s Facebook page you can see what items they’re giving away by month. They accept donations for the items a month before. In June they are doing items for new parents, in July they are doing free haircuts and in August they’re giving away book bags and school items. They take donations Monday through Friday at 121 East Main Street in downtown Stevensville. If you are interested in volunteering you can contact them at tidesofgraceinc@gmail.com. Finally, you can donate to them directly by clicking on the zeffy link on their Facebook page.