TRTF Grants in Action: How A High School Band is Excelling with the Help of TRTF

November has been designated by the Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) Board of Directors as a time to raise funds for and honor the charitable endeavors of our partner organization, the Texas Retired Teachers Foundation (TRTF).

TRTF just launched its annual appeal to raise funds for its four primary charitable programs and its endowment fund: “A Helping Hand,” Classroom Assistance Grants, Beginning Teacher Scholarships, the Disaster Relief Fund and the Lehr-Pritchard Endowment Fund. TRTF hopes to raise $100,000 in donations to support its programs to help educators of the past, present, and future!

Each year, TRTF distributes thirty $500 classroom assistance grants to educators all across Texas. The grants are awarded to public school teachers who demonstrate commitment to the education of Texas children through the creation of programs, events, learning platforms, or other innovative classroom projects.

Since 2008, TRTF has provided more than $480,000 to educators of the past, present, and future, including $78,000 in grants to public school teachers.

We challenge our members to watch the video below and really see how donations are changing lives! You can also read more about all of TRTF’s charitable endeavors in the third quarter issue of The VOICE.

Please consider making your year-end, tax-deductible donation to TRTF this November. To donate online, please click here. To donate by phone, please call 1.800.880.1650 and ask for Sarah.

Jesus Torres, a band director at East View High School, has won this grant three times, and he puts it to great use. This year, his grant went towards purchasing a hardware storage closet. The hardware his marching band utilizes builds and repairs the props.

“I think this year we have the most amount of stuff on the field that we’ve ever had,” Torres said. “And I know that a lot of that is because it’s just really easy to repair it.”

Torres has been the director at East View in Georgetown, Texas for four years. He derives his greatest satisfaction from the success and growth of his students.

“Here at East View we find success by trying to involve as many kids as we can. I think we create as diverse as experience as possible,” he said. “It’s the relationships with the kids that’s the most fun. Just getting to find out more about them as people and figure makes them tick.”

East View’s marching band performs modern hits accentuated by a dynamic series of patterns and movements. The band flies across the football field with precision and an eye for detail while filling the stadium with its melodies.

Torres was particularly grateful for the grants that TRTF has provided to assist his band.

“It means the world. It really does. It’s a huge support. I know that $500 may not seem like a lot of money to some band programs… but if we’re really strategic about what we’re going to do with that money, then we’re able to keep $500 in a pot that will do something bigger for the kids,” Torres said.

TRTF’s grants are truly making a difference in many schools across Texas. In 2019, TRTF will be distributing 30 Classroom Assistance Grants.

Applications Now Available!

TRTF is now accepting applications for Classroom Assistance Grants and will award thirty $500 grants to public school teachers in Texas for the 2019-2020 school year. To download an application, please click here. Applications are due to the TRTF office no later than 5:00 p.m. on February 28, 2019.

Donate Online Today!

Help make a difference in your schools by donating to TRTF today!

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