TRIO sells shirts and sweatshirts to raise money for community service

AnnaBrooke Rainey

The Trio Student Activities Counsel (SAC) is selling t-shirts and sweatshirts to raise funds for community service projects. They are being sold online until Feb. 125.

“Our student board is required to do community service projects, and they also host social events. That money does not come out of our grant funds because our grant is very specific about what we can spend money on.” said MacKenzie Taylor, project advisor for Trio Student Support Services.

Taylor explained that if the students want to do a community service project, they have to raise the funds themselves. She said last year the SAC used the funds to paint pumpkins with the Troy Boy’s and Girl’s Club.

Shantel Barginere, director of student support services, said in 2024 the SAC used the funds raised to help a student’s family recover from a devastating house fire. She said they have also used the funds to buy canned goods for Troy families during the holidays.

The Student Activities Counsel will use the funds to also hold social events. SAC President Tyshaun Caldwell, a freshman social work major, said that potential events include a movie night with free tutoring, a trip to the bowling alley, and hopefully a trip to the Rosa Parks Museum.

Caldwell said Student Support Services is like a home away from home. He said his favorite part of being in Trio is meeting people from different backgrounds.

The Trio program is very diverse because it is comprised of students with disabilities, students who receive Pell grants, and students who are first-generation. It provides qualifying students with free printing, laptops to rent, book loans, study spaces and peer tutoring.

The shirts are being sold for $20, and the sweatshirts are being sold for $35 each. They are unisex and nonspecific to Trio, so anyone at Troy can buy one.

To buy a shirt, scan the QR code from one of the posters around campus and order online. If a student lives on campus but doesn’t have a P.O. box, he or she can ship it under his or her name to 109 Shackelford Hall Annex Troy, AL 36082. The shirts will be shipped out at the beginning of March.