RIFA - Support Our Community Partner
TCA Community,
Once again, we have arrived at September on the calendar, which happens to be Hunger Awareness Month. For the past several years, TCA has participated in a food drive during the month of September to benefit RIFA, one of our area’s most generous and helpful organizations. What once started as a competition between schools has evolved into a collaborative effort that includes the TCA, USJ, and JC communities in an effort to fight food insecurity in the Jackson area.
The generosity of our TCA families has traditionally provided us with an amazing opportunity to bless RIFA with the ability to feed those in need in the Jackson community. Isaiah 58:10 says “and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry, and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” When we feed the hungry, we give of ourselves personally and then our lives shine in dark places.
To those of you who plan on helping, know that there will be plenty of opportunities to join the cause! We will be accepting donations of money and acceptable food through the end of September and can honor monetary pledges made during this time. Let me know if you need an extra day or two to send in a check. No donation is too small, and RIFA will gladly accept whatever you can spare.
This is an amazing opportunity for us as a school family to rally together with our partners at USJ and JC to do our part to share our blessings with those in the community who are less fortunate. Our past donations have given RIFA the opportunity to reach more and more hungry mouths each year, and they need our help this year more than ever! As a school, we have always given graciously to RIFA, and our goal this year is to DO EVEN MORE!!!
For business owners and decision-makers:
Our corporate sponsors are extremely helpful as they provide RIFA with the ability to purchase exactly what they need from a local grocery partner when they need it. Your donations are also tax-deductible, and we will gladly provide you with the necessary paperwork. As a corporate sponsor, your business name will be announced during the TCA/JC football game on 10/26 when we announce the total combined donation amount. You may reach out to Frank Clampitt if you want to be a part of our corporate sponsorship program. Please make all checks payable to TCA. Our 12th-grade SGA students have already started calling on businesses this week that have helped in the past. Please let me know if you would like to be added to our call list.
For our families:
Our Student Government and school administration have decided to reward our students and staff for joining the fight against hunger. Each student (school-wide) or staff member who donates $20 (or an equal amount of canned goods) on Monday, September 18 will be allowed to “dress down” in appropriate clothing for the rest of the week (following the Mission Pride guidelines in the Student Handbooks). For families with 3 or more children attending TCA, you may simply donate $50 for all of your students to have the ability to “dress down” for the week. This is an excellent way for our students and staff to feel a little more comfortable while also helping those in need! Donations for dressing down should be turned in to their homeroom/first block teachers. Please make all checks payable to TCA.
To make it easy to donate:
Our SGA students will be stationed in the afternoon carpool lines during the week of September 18 accepting SPARE CHANGE FOR CHANGE. Feel free to drop off as much or as little CHANGE to CREATE CHANGE in our COMMUNITY. This is a great way to help those in need AND clean out your car at the same time without even leaving your car! For clarification, cash, check, and food donations can be dropped off during this time and our SGA members can assist you with this.
To make donating even more fun:
Students can donate cans of food during the week of September 18 for an opportunity to Pie a Teacher/Coach/Administrator in the face at a future school assembly. Every can donated during this time will count as an extra chance to be selected to be the student who gets to throw the pies (12 cans donated = 12 chances to be selected). Food will need to be dropped off by students in the high school or lower school atriums before school on these days to count towards their chances. SGA members will be stationed in those areas to collect and record donations.
It is a blessing to have the opportunity to partner with each of you to show the love of Christ to the Jackson community. Thank you for your generosity and compassion!
In Him,
Frank Clampitt, Director of Discipleship
