Two years ago, Cassie Allenby didn’t know how to use a computer. She had been in prison and working in a dead-end job when she joined Grace Collective’s program.

The experience has changed her from being “rough around the edges” to becoming a program leader, a licensed driver with her own car and a certified kitchen manager. 

“I’m just not the person I used to be, and I’m really grateful for that,” she said.

She’s not the only woman whose life has been changed by Grace Collective.

The Pasco-based nonprofit, formerly known as Grace Kitchen, has provided impoverished and exploited women with a second chance for four years. It is a safe place for women to gain experience through work and training to attain living-wage jobs in the community, and its offerings are expanding to help more women.

Currently 17 women are a part of the 18-month program, and more are on a waiting list. 

Women in the program learn to make pasta sold across the country and prepare catered meals; they take computer classes and learn communication skills; and now, Grace Collective is adding a coffee shop to its offerings, enabling barista training and serving more women.

“Our story doesn’t have to end behind bars or in a grave,” Allenby said. 

Second chances 

Amanda and Devin Lorraine founded Grace Collective in December 2020. They recently were recognized for their work by Washington State University Tri-Cities with the 2025 Women of Distinction Champion Award.

Amanda Lorraine had been serving as a chaplain at Tri-City Union Gospel Mission’s women’s shelter in Pasco, right next door to Grace Collective’s current space, when she had the idea for a sanctuary where women could learn and have friendship, mentorship and jobs.

UGM believed in the mission, she said, and sold her the building for $10. 

The Lorraines both came from difficult backgrounds themselves, and all of the leaders at Grace Collective are “survivor-leaders.” Some have returned after graduating from the nonprofit’s program, including the first-ever graduate, who now serves as Grace Collective’s case manager. But most of the women who graduate go on to living wage jobs elsewhere. 

That’s part of the program’s goal: enabling women to obtain living wage jobs. 

“We believe that in order for women to be able to rise out of poverty and stand on their own two feet and support themselves and their children, they have to get living wage jobs,” Amanda Lorraine said. “They can’t rely on a minimum wage job.”

Women graduating from the program have gone on to pursue their passions, from phlebotomy school to dog grooming to business administration. Some don’t take the full 18 months – they can be ready to leave after just nine months, Amanda Lorraine said.

The nonprofit is seeking more businesses to step up and partner with Grace Collective to give these women job opportunities.

“These women are incredible and they’re resilient, but their lives have been so shattered by trauma and abuse, and they just need a chance,” Amanda Lorraine said.

Pasta making is only a small piece of what Grace Collective does – through catering, taking classes, making bath salts, screen printing and more, the nonprofit gives women a sanctuary to heal and learn. Ashley Kelsey, left, and Nadera Shahbaz place pasta on drying racks.

| Photo by Rachel Visick

More than pasta 

When Grace Collective first got started, Amanda Lorraine spoke with the owner of Pasta Mama’s, who gave her the company – including pasta machines, recipes and sauces – for free.

“It’s just been an incredible tool to be able to bring women into our program,” she said. “It’s a very simple model that we use and provides a lot of jobs.”

Women in the program are paid to make pasta, sauces and rubs which are sold across the country, learning small business skills, shipping and receiving, packaging, production and manufacturing skills along the way. 

But pasta making is incidental to Grace Collective’s mission. That’s part of why the name changed in October 2024: “We just outgrew that kitchen identity so fast,” Amanda Lorraine said. “… So last year we changed to Grace Collective, and I think that really fits us to be able to continue to grow and expand.”

Women in the program can work up to five days each week, typically during school hours, since many have children, and the first hour of each day is spent in a peer support group.

In Grace Collective’s kitchen, women work to prepare catered breakfasts, lunches and dinners. The nonprofit has contracts with Pasco’s Bezos Academy and the Pasco police cadet training academy to cater breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Between the two contracts, Grace Collective puts out about 300 meals each day.

When the women aren’t working in the kitchen, they rotate out to classes teaching them computer skills like using Microsoft Word and typing as well as classes on setting boundaries, communication and dealing with trauma. They’ll have LinkedIn learning classes and have the chance to get professional photos taken for their pages.

Grace Collective also partners with Goodwill to provide classes and has an onsite trauma therapy dog named Olive.

The nonprofit is launching a line of bath and home goods, from bath salts and sugar scrubs to candles and lip balms. They’re looking to launch a small screen-printing business as well.

“We have to continue to create more opportunities. These girls need this place, or they’re going to fall back into their addiction and back to the streets, back to a trafficker or a gang,” Lorraine said. 

Then there’s the planned coffee shop, expected to launch in July in Grace Collective’s building at 112 N. Second Ave., Pasco.

“We already have the permits in, we have the funding to launch this, we have a team that has already done the design,” Lorraine said. “We have baristas and coffee shop owners that are involved in this work for our training.”

Next to the coffee shop will be a fair-trade market with items like jewelry from global partners available for purchase.

With so much growth in Grace Collective’s programs – and in the number of women who can participate in the programs – the nonprofit will eventually be looking to expand to a second building to move the pasta and skin care production there. 

A portion of Grace Collective’s budget, 35%, is covered by the nonprofit’s products and catering; the rest is funded through grants and community support.

Outreach

Once a week, on Thursdays, Grace Collective opens its doors to women outside of the program. These “outreach days” allow Grace Collective to reach 1,000 women each year and provide them with food, clothing and showers, and connect them with resources. 

In return, the women help with packaging the pasta. They’re connected with a volunteer who acts as a mentor and helps them out throughout the day, teaching them how to pack the pasta and sauces. 

“You see them like, light up,” Amanda Lorraine said. “They’re coming in off the streets. We get them cleaned up. We get them in hair nets and aprons and, you know, they’re nervous. Sometimes their hands are shaking, and they’re like, ‘I’ve never done this before,’ but their mentor is right there with them all day.”

When they finish packing the pasta, she said, they’ve created something beautiful.

On outreach days, women can fill out an application for Grace Collective’s program. 

To join the program, women must have an income level of $900 or less – Lorraine said that 95% of the women who come in have no income. The women also must be willing to stay clean and sober.

But for those who aren’t ready yet, or don’t meet the requirements yet to remain clean and sober, resources are still available, and they can always come back when they are ready.

Contact: 509-380-0991, gracecollective.com.