Dear TRTA Members and Supporters,
This is the time of year to reflect and be appreciative of those who have been a special part of our lives!
The TRTA Board of Directors and the Texas Retired Teachers Foundation (TRTF) Board of Trustees are so very thankful for the time you spend volunteering for the Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) and the donations you have made to help fund TRTF’s many charitable programs.
Your work and endeavors have made this a successful organization that gives a voice to retired educators as well as active educators still working in the school systems and helps us provide assistance to retired educators in need, current classroom teachers, and tomorrow’s educators! Your unwavering support has also meant that more than 500 educators—retired and active—could begin the recovery process after Hurricane Harvey through grants provided by TRTF’s Disaster Relief Fund. Since 2008, your donations have enabled TRTF to provide more than $480,000 in aid to educators across the state.
Educators are the foundation for everything good that happens in our state. We know that educators make things happen. Your patience, love, knowledge, dedication and generous spirit make Texas great!
However, we also know that for all the good we do, the appreciation and salary is not commensurate. We know that the future holds many questions about the pension fund and health insurance for our retirees, as well as concerns about making ends meet.
Fortunately, that does not hinder what we have and want to give to others. Your Texas Retired Teachers Foundation does what its name implies. We are the base, the underlying structure that supports our members and future members too!
How the Foundation Can Help
If you or a retiree you know is in need of financial assistance this holiday season, please email the Foundation’s “A Helping Hand” program at help@trtf.org. TRTF has assisted many retirees with home repairs, dental work, hearing aids, medical bills, space heaters and much more!
If you know of a classroom teacher who is hoping to fund a great project for his or her students and is wondering where to find the money to accomplish this goal, have them apply for one of our thirty available Classroom Assistance Grants. Download the application aquí.
If you have a grandchild or other family member who is about to graduate from college and plans to teach for the very first time in the fall of 2019, let them know about our Beginning Teacher Scholarship program. We may be able to assist them in paying for certification tests or supplies for their first classroom. TRTF has twenty-one scholarships to give in 2018. Download the application aquí.
Donate Today
If you believe in the legacy of public education in Texas and want to show your support through a tax-deductible donation to any of our Foundation’s amazing programs, you may donate online today! You may also call and donate over the phone with a credit card at 1.800.880.1650. Please ask for Sarah.
El third quarter issue of La voz also featured a special article about the Foundation, along with TRTF’s annual appeal letter and donation card. You can mail in your donation using the pre-paid envelope included with your issue.
There are more than 88,000 members of TRTA. If we all give a little, we could do a lot! Foundation Month is your opportunity to make a difference for a colleague that could use help, create an opportunity for classroom teachers and students, or help open the door for a new teacher brimming with youthful enthusiasm to teach young minds.
Thank you for the opportunity you have given all of us to serve as your TRTA representatives. We are all deeply grateful to our members for everything that they do to support this great organization.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Tim Lee
TRTA Executive Director
Jamie Larson
TRTF Board President
