Students in the after school program led by Higher Achievement, one of this year's Large Grant recipients.
Since the 1980s, Holy Trinity has committed 10% of parishioners’ regular collections — the tithe — to its ministry of social justice. The tithe program seeks to address root causes of social justice issues both locally and within the global community. We accomplish this in collaboration with members of the parish through prayer and discernment and by giving our time, talents and resources to vulnerable communities. This concrete and ongoing commitment to social justice distinguishes Holy Trinity, and the careful and transparent distribution of tithe monies is an important responsibility of the Social Justice Committee.
Grants are awarded each spring after parishioners on the Social Justice Tithe SubCommittee review proposals and make recommendations to the pastor. Our large grant theme this year addresses the education achievement gap, and the social justice committee evaluated programs that seek to address in a concrete and measurable manner the persistent education achievement disparities affecting low-income communities and communities of color, which have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
The Social Justice Tithe Subcommittee spent several months reviewing grant proposals for both large and small grants, and we are pleased to share the final awards report on our website. Congratulations to our large grant recipients Kid Power, Inc. and Higher Achievement. We will provide additional information on volunteer opportunities with all of the organizations in the coming months.
As always, thank you to our parishioners for your financial support. The tithe amount for 2020 was $380,000. An additional $45,000 was applied from social justice ministry funds, bringing the total to $425,000. (These supplemental funds were used specifically for organizations addressing food insecurity and homelessness.)
Pastoral Associate for Social Justice Ashley Klick writes, “Due to your generosity, your tithe dollars are addressing food insecurity, building 2 new houses in Haiti, educating students of all ages locally and abroad, supporting families and individuals experiencing homelessness, supporting job and training initiatives, and providing immigrants and refugees legal support. What an amazing impact and how wonderful that your donations support 32 local and international organizations!”
Read below for some ways your dollars are making a difference:
Washington School for Girls
We appreciate your support of our work with our students and families, especially during this very difficult school year. Thanks to our community of supporters, we have maintained a strong academic program for our students (though virtually) and provided emergency and crisis funds for our families to give support during the pandemic. Indications are that our results have been good - despite the difficulties! Our girls are showing up for remote school each day and our preliminary testing shows they've continued to make progress. We are very thankful.
Now as we close out this school year, we are very anxious to get back on campus with them next year - and have dubbed this next year our "comeback year." We won't be returning to the status quo: we are investing in additional academic support services and providing intensive remediation for students who struggled with distance learning, and are reorganizing our campus layout, schedule, and classroom experience to maximize learning time. Most importantly, we will be fully on-campus. I look forward to sharing more as the year progresses.
-Dr. Beth Reaves, DBA
President, Washington School for Girls
SOME’s Center for Employment Training
I want to thank you for Holy Trinity's recent donation to SOME CET. Your support has really made a difference in our clients' lives.
We are so proud of the work our students have put into this program. Since July 2020, our
students have participated in more than 3,000 hours of training. They are also some of the only students in the District to receive HVAC training during the last 12 months as most publicly funded HVAC programs, including those offered by UDC’s Division of Workforce Development and Lifelong Learning, have remained closed throughout the pandemic.
Many of our students have also successfully earned industry-recognized credentials. Four
students earned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 608 Type I, and one student has
earned the EPA CFC Universal. And 11 additional students will test for their certifications by the end of June. Some of our HVAC students have also made significant basic educational gains which are often equivalent to grade level increases.
Because of your support, CET can continue to deliver vocational and educational skills building and career development services to low-income individuals throughout the Washington, D.C. region. By investing in these critical services, you are helping us to build economic mobility for the District’s most vulnerable populations who are at greater risk of homelessness and falling deeper into poverty during the most challenging public health crisis of our time.
Your investment in SOME makes all the difference in the lives of those we serve and positively contributes to the communities in which we live, learn, work, and ultimately thrive. We are grateful to have you as our partner in this worthy mission. Thank you for helping SOME break the cycle of poverty and homelessness.
-Ralph Boyd, Jr.
President & Ceo, So Others Might Eat (SOME)