Every Christmas, The Grandberry Intervention Foundation (TGIF) hosts a holiday party for its children-in-need, but this year a mobile app startup called Contractor Plus sponsored a no-holds-barred event.
“They came in and brought elves,” said Sharon Grandberry, founder of TGIF, a licensed foster care and adoption agency in Fort Worth. “They brought the Grinch and we’ve never had the Grinch. They brought pizza, Santa Claus, and a DJ. So, it was a blessing because we didn’t have to get all those things out of our car and or take it out of our budget to try and pay for it.”
The three-hour celebration took place at the TGIF Multi-Purpose Community Center in Southeast Fort Worth off of Mansfield Highway, where a Contractor Plus employee donned the Grinch costume to entertain the children.
“They played bingo games with the children,” Grandberry told Dallas Express. “They brought gifts and a pinata. The kids loved it. They absolutely loved it.”
TGIF, which also maintains a location in the Beaumont-Houston area, is a residence for dozens of children who once suffered abuse and neglect.
“It’s my understanding that Contractor Plus plans to make this an annual event and come back every year to host parties for Easter and Christmas,” Grandberry said in an interview. “We’re looking forward to that.”
Nationwide, there are some 400,000 children in foster care, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services reports that there are more than 11,000 children in foster care in the Dallas-Fort-Worth metroplex.
“During the pandemic last year when all the other community centers were closed, we stayed open, which brought a lot more life to our TGIF Multi-Purpose Community Center,” Grandberry added. “A lot of the children who could not go to the city-funded community centers came to our community center, and now we have regular patrons, but our gymnasium needs a new floor. We’re collecting donations.”
Since its inception 20 years ago, TGIF has facilitated adoptions for more than 4,000 children or placed them in foster homes.
“Any opportunity I have to give back where I can, I want to do that, otherwise, what’s the purpose of life?” said Justin Smith, CEO of Contractor Plus. “What’s the purpose of business? We work all day. We make money. We put food on the table but if we’re not doing anything that really brings us joy and helps others, then what’s the purpose of it all?”
Smith attended the TGIF Christmas party along with about five other Contractor Plus employees.
“I’m grateful we are in a position where we’re able to give back like this,” he said. “Contractor Plus is growing really fast. We’ve been growing month-over-month at about 30%. In the last 16 months, we’ve grown 2000%. We’re finally cash flow positive. We’re getting 50 to 60 new contractors using our platform every single day.”
The field service management company, which decked the halls of the Fort Worth foster care facility with a tree, lights, and holiday decorations, also invited their more than 11,000 contractor clients to donate to TGIF.
“It was really awesome that we had this opportunity,” Smith told Dallas Express. “It was great meeting everyone at TGI Foundation. This was our first annual Christmas party and we want to make it a habit every year from here on out. We will try to outdo ourselves every year.”
