As part of its commitment to serving the community, Tarrant County College is celebrating the holiday season with charitable-giving projects across the District.
TCC Northwest is collecting items for 6 Stones’ New Hope Center, which provides emergency assistance of food, clothing and other resources to local families. Student Development Services is coordinating the project, with collection boxes located in Advising & Counseling, Student Accessibility Resources, Testing and other campus offices. Organizers will deliver donated items in mid-December and again in the spring semester.
TCC Northeast is making the holidays brighter for students in need. The Giving Tree project benefits students recommended by counselors, financial aid and other faculty and staff members. Thanks to the contributions of students and employees, each identified student will receive a $100 gift card.
TCC South is helping various community organizations through several campus organizations. The Kinesiology Student Organization collected more than 120 pairs of shoes for Soles4Souls that will be sent to impoverished countries. Veteran Students of America collected toys for Toys for Tots and also participated in Operation Gratitude by collecting wish items to put together care packages for those serving in the military. Meals on Wheels benefited from two South organizations: the Nutrition and Environmental Club delivers meals every Friday morning and Beta Psi decorated the doors of meal recipients at a seniors’ facility. Beta Psi also collected and donated more than 70 gifts to the JPS Foundation. The gifts will be distributed to neighborhood clinics for children with appointments in December.
TCC Southeast’s Food Pantry continues to provide grocery items to the campus community in partnership with Arlington Charities, which helps stabilize families, individuals and the homeless by providing immediate assistance during their most critical time of need. In addition to general staples, students are receiving holiday favorites such as sweet potatoes and gravy. Also this season, TCC Southeast’s Culinary Arts program and others on campus hosted approximately 50 residents from Arlington Life Shelter for a special holiday meal. The annual event included the distribution of donated toys, clothes and other gifts for shelter residents. In a separate effort, TCC Southeast’s Phi Theta Kappa honor society chapter collected more than 100 holiday thank-you notes for active military personnel and veterans. In January, faculty and staff will donate gently used work attire for a clothing drive benefiting Mission Arlington. The clothing will go to members of the community transitioning to jobs that require a professional wardrobe.
The TCC Trinity River Student Veterans Association and VetSuccess Center are collecting coats, blankets and other winter items to donate to homeless veterans and children in foster care this holiday season. The campus also is accepting donations of personal care items and necessities to send to troops deployed overseas. For the 12th year, the Surgical Technology program is collecting gloves, hats, scarves and coats. The gLove Project benefits SafeHaven of Tarrant County, which provides shelter and assistance to families healing from domestic violence.
TCC Connect, the campus responsible for e-learning and Weekend College, is supporting Tarrant Area Food Bank this holiday season and throughout the year. TCC Connect is collecting non-perishable food items and providing volunteers who will help package the donations and distribute them in the community. Tarrant Area Food Bank is the primary source of donated food for hunger-relief charities and feeding programs in 13 North Texas counties. In the past year, TCC Connect has collected more than 500 pounds of non-perishable foods for distribution in the community.