![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_2016-911x1024.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
Annelise Gruebmeyer, left, and her sister Kaylie sit on top of water bottles on pallets at Calvary Lutheran Church. (Courtesy | Melony Gruebmeyer)<\/p>\nAccording to her mother, Annelise Gruebmeyer has wanted to help folks since she was about 4 years old.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think she was still in a car seat\u00a0\u2014 maybe a booster,\u201d Melony Gruebmeyer said, recalling moments when the family would encounter homeless people while driving. \u201cShe would always say, \u2018Mom, do something. Just give them something.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
As she grew older, Annelise began supporting homeless people through her church in North Richland Hills. Annelise volunteers primarily for Calvary Lutheran Church\u2019s Room in the Inn program, providing shelter to those in need during the hottest and coldest months of the year.<\/p>\n
This year, the 13-year-old is leading a water drive organized by the church alongside nonprofit homeless outreach organization When We Love. And she\u2019s aiming high \u2014 the goal is to raise $12,000, the highest since the drive began 11 years ago.<\/p>\n
With that money, When We Love would be able to purchase about 50,000 bottles of water, easing the expense the organization incurs in providing water during high-demand seasons, said Gary Wilkerson, the nonprofit\u2019s founder and executive director. That many bottles would last the organization 15 weeks, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This will be the first time Annelise leads the water drive. But when the opportunity presented itself, she jumped at it.<\/p>\n
Annelise Gruebmeyer, left, and her sister Kaylie sit on top of water bottles on pallets at Calvary Lutheran Church. (Courtesy | Melony Gruebmeyer)<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to do it because, imagine having to just live out here in the heat every day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The water drive was started by Drew Thomas, another Calvary Lutheran Church member, who took it on when he was about 7 years old.<\/p>\n
That was in 2015, when ministry leaders were looking for ways to encourage people to donate bottled water during the summer. They asked Thomas, who was active then in the church\u2019s Room in the Inn program, to be the face of that effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave a talk in front of the congregation during a couple of church services, about how it’s really hot and how the homeless needed water donations, and it kind of just ran on from there,\u201d said Thomas, recalling his first water drive in 2015.<\/p>\n
Thomas, now 18, is moving on to college, but he wanted to pass the program on to another child at the church.<\/p>\n
Donate to Annelise\u2019s water drive here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s a good growing experience for a kid, too,\u201d he said. \u201cTo not only run something and be involved in a leadership role to grow those skills but also to see the impact on the community and how that can help people that are struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n When We Love\u2019s distributions don\u2019t stop when the weather cools down in the fall. Year-round, the organization distributes food, clothing and other essentials every day at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Water is continuously available in an accessible cooler restocked by volunteers, Wilkerson said.<\/p>\n Cavalry Lutheran congregants have long supported the fundraising effort to meet the water needs of those without homes in the dangerously hot summer months. This year\u2019s drive started last week, and Annelise and her parents are using their church network, social media outreach, and their friends and family to promote it.<\/p>\n Thomas hopes the program will continue after Annelise is grown and that it will be led by youth at Calvary Lutheran forever.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s very much a needed thing,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Melony said her daughter\u2019s selflessness is infectious. Several of her friends and family members have asked how they can help.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, the amount of people that say, \u2018Oh, my gosh, she’s so young to want to do this.\u2019\u201d Melony said. \u201cThe fact that she has the compassion to want to help others is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n For Annelise, the reason to lead this effort is clear.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery drop counts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Ismael M. Belkoura is the nonprofit editor for the Fort Worth Report. His position is supported by a grant from North Texas Community Foundation. Contact him at ismael.belkoura@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_8651-1-1024x683.jpg\")
When We Love\u2019s water and food distribution occurs twice a day. (Ismael M. Belkoura | Fort Worth Report)
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_8631-copy-1-1024x682.jpg\")
Annelise Gruebmeyer distributes water, chips, sandwiches and an energy drink to individuals experiencing homelessness at the When We Love building at 1100 E. Lancaster Ave. on July 23, 2026. (Ismael M. Belkoura | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n