With the Christmas season in full swing (and with no finals in sight – woohoo!), it’s easy to get caught up in the chaos of instant gratification, advertisements, and wish-listing. Despite the near-constant reminder during the Christmas season to get involved with giving back, it’s difficult to get directly involved in service projects due to COVID-19 restrictions. Sometimes, it’s as if our sense of community has been completely derailed. 

On Tuesday, December 1, however, BT’s incredible community—and the Catholic community as a whole—embarked on a journey to give back Catholic on Giving Tuesday, known as #iGiveCatholic. This was an opportunity to share what we have with independent Catholic parishes, schools, and nonprofits in order to better reaffirm our mission and identity as Catholics. As Jesus does, we give gifts to help our community commit to a stronger, more widespread outreach of love, faith, and a determination to better the lives of others. 

As Ms. Lancaster puts it, “We participate in #iGiveCatholic because we believe in Blessed Trinity’s mission. It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to provide support for Catholic education.”  

#iGiveCatholic has a short and sweet history. Founded in 2015 by Archbishop Gregory Aymond in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the near-immediate, incredibly generous results of Catholic philanthropy has inspired five years’ worth of giving. As #iGiveCatholic’s website puts it, “We share what we can with our favorite Catholic organizations to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give shelter to the homeless, and preserve our Catholic heritage for future generations.”

Blessed Trinity is preserving such Catholic heritage by teaching fundamental and in-depth truths alike of the Catholic faith through education, athletics, the arts, and campus ministry. In the past, students have traveled to Jamaica for mission trips. There are regular Kairos retreats in which we have the opportunity to encounter Christ over the course of a full weekend. We maintain our service hour requirement to encourage students to seek faith-filled actions outside of school and participate in incredible school-wide fundraisers like Miracle Minute and Adopt-a-Family every Christmas. We go above and beyond in every sense! 

#iGiveCatholic gives us an opportunity to show our faith in other ways, but it’s also proof of our fantastic sense of community. We work together for the benefit of our community. 

BT’s original goal of $60,000 of donated funds to be directed towards the purchase of a bus was quickly matched and exceeded. Alumni, parents, teachers, grandparents, and more donated generously to the fund. In total, the BT community raised $68,796.00 in one day! This incredible testament to BT’s community will be used in countless ways. 

“We were in need of a new bus to help us, transport students, to Kairos retreats, athletic events, Habitat for Humanity builds, service projects, field trips, and fine arts performances. Our community came together!” Ms. Lancaster said. “I want to thank everyone in this community that donated during #iGiveCatholic!”