Phi Sigma Pi named Teach For America its National Philanthropy in 2003. Since then, the Fraternity has developed several programs by which we support Teach For America, one of which is the Backpack Attack. Brothers are encouraged to collect school supplies and send them to their local TFA regional office. The following are letters of gratitude from teachers whose classrooms benefited from these and other donations.
- L. Freezor, Recruitment Associate, Pennsylvania/Delaware
- S. Matthews, TFA Director of Development, Mississippi Delta
- C. Spicer, TFA Director of Development, Phoenix
- J. Oxenhandler, TFA '09 Baltimore
- L. Collins, TFA Development Manager, Kansas City
- M. Nagengast, Alpha Eta Chapter '10, TFA Assistant to the Executive Director, Baltimore
- O. Todd, TFA Executive Director, Baltimore
- N. Fitzpatrick, TFA '06 Manager for Non-Profit Alliances, Mississippi Delta
- L. Altman, TFA Senior Associate, Non-Profit Alliances
- S. Pompelia, Beta Nu Chapter '08, TFA '08 Program Director, Mississippi Delta
L. Freezor, Recruitment Associate, Pennsylvania/Delaware
Monday, December 12th, 2011
I wanted to let you know how amazing Phi Sigma Pi has been at University of Delaware and the support they've shown TFA on campus from co-hosting a "Waiting for Superman" screening, to financial assistance for university fees, and overall willingness to be a part of our movement. The philanthropy chair, and my campus campaign coordinator, Rebecca Emel has demonstrated high leadership in all that she does in her role and I am very proud of her for being accepted to our 2012 corps.
S. Matthews, TFA Director of Development, Mississippi Delta
Friday, August 12th, 2011
Thank you so much for the school supplies that you donated to Teach For America - Mississippi Delta. We have given them to our teachers at Quitman Country Elementary School and they are so excited. Thank you for your continual support and your commitment to education.
Sincerely,
S. Matthews
C. Spicer, TFA Director of Development, Phoenix
Tuesday, February 8th, 2011
I just wanted to thank you so much for sending us the backpacks filled with supplies!! We can’t thank you enough for your generosity and willingness to support our students. We will make sure that the backpacks will be given to amazing kids who get great use out of them; thank you again!
C. Spicer
J. Oxenhandler, TFA '09 Baltimore
Monday, September 27, 2010
My name is J. Oxenhandler and I am a 2009 TFA Baltimore Corps Member. I teach 6th and 7th grade English Language Arts at ConneXions Community Leadership Academy. I was one of the recipients of the school supplies that you donated to our regional office.
On behalf of myself and the eighty students that I teach I wanted to thank you for your contribution. We used the construction paper we received from you to make Diversity Quilts (a team a goal building centered activity). The scissors, calculators, and markers have really helped out in class and our math focused study hall. More than any one item in particular I want to emphasize how meaningful it is for my students to know that people in their communities, cities, state, and country care about their academic progress.
Thank you again for your generosity,
J. Oxenhandler
Photos of Ms. Oxenhandler's class
L. Collins, TFA Development Manager, Kansas City
Monday, September 20, 2010
Dear Phi Sigma Pi,
Thank you for the generous gift of school supplies given to the TFA-KC region from your Central Region of chapters. We are so grateful for them!
Best,
L. Collins
M. Nagengast, Alpha Eta Chapter '10, TFA Assistant to the Executive Director, Baltimore
Thursday, August 26, 2010
I wanted to thank you for Phi Sigma Pi’s generous donation to Teach For America-Baltimore. I was a Brother in the Alpha Eta chapter of Phi Sigma Pi from 2007 - 2010, so it truly was a proud moment for me to see all the boxes of school supplies pile in. The staff here was amazed and overwhelmed by the amount of notebooks, erasers, pencils, and flashcards we received. Everybody’s eyes just lit up, and one staff member even exclaiming that it was just like Christmas. When they asked where they came from, I could not keep the pride out of my voice when I said they were donations from my fraternity. We invited corps members to stop by and select ten items each to take for their classrooms. They’ve been going quickly, and the corps members have been incredibly excited and appreciative. On behalf of Teach For America-Baltimore, I wanted to sincerely thank you for hosting this drive and continuing to support this important organization. It once more shows that a little bit of generosity goes a long way, and we could not be more grateful.
Brothers for life,
M. Nagengast
AH548
Assistant to the Executive Director
Teach For America, Baltimore
O. Todd, TFA Executive Director, Baltimore
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Thank you so much for you all’s support of the Baltimore region. It was truly inspiring to get your e-mail and then walk in to an office full of supplies. We are truly lucky to have you all as partners in this work.
Best,
O. Todd
N. Fitzpatrick, TFA '06 Manager for Non-Profit Alliances, Mississippi Delta
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Dear Brothers,
On behalf of Teach For America, I would like to thank you for your tremendous support this past year.
My name is N. Fitzpatrick, and I am a Manager for Non-Profit Alliances at Teach For America. I had the pleasure of teaching in the Mississippi Delta with Teach For America as a 2006 corps member. I am now extremely lucky to work with Phi Sigma Pi this year. As I learn more about your work, I am truly grateful for the effort you have put forth to help end educational inequity in this country.
Teach For America exists for the 14 million children who are growing up in poverty in our country. In the United States, where a child is born determines his/her educational prospects. Students in low income communities face a fifty percent chance of graduating from high school. Those who do graduate do so on an eighth grade reading and math level. It is anathema to the American ideal that only one in ten of these students will graduate from college and that students like mine face a higher likelihood of going to jail than of getting a job. What I found in my classroom and the classrooms of corps members across the country is that this problem is fundamentally solvable. We need leadership in the classrooms and systems in place that work for our students.
This is where you all have come in. Just as leadership to better humanity is a core value of Phi Sigma Pi, so too is it a quality that will change the face of education in the United States. Your collective impact alters the lives of our students and the communities where they live in a positive and finite way. Whether you raised money like the University of Maryland’s Alpha Beta chapter and their 3rd Annual 5K fundraiser, helped collect supplies to a nearby region like the Epsilon Iota chapter’s supply drive at Ohio University, or donated your time like the University of Michigan’s Beta Alpha chapter by tabling for Teach For America, your contributions of money, supplies, and time have improved the life prospects of the almost 500,000 students who will be affected by our corps members this year. I charge you to build on the successes of last year. Think big, think innovatively, and ground yourselves in the fact that the work that you do is life-changing.
For the future of my students, I thank you, and I am looking forward to our work together this year.
Sincerely,
N. Fitzpatrick
Manager, Non-Profit Alliances
L. Altman, TFA Senior Associate, Non-Profit Alliances
Friday, April 16, 2010
Dear Brothers,
On behalf of Teach For America, I would like to thank you for your tremendous support this past year.
My name is L. Altman, and I am a Senior Associate at Teach For America. I have been lucky enough to work with Phi Sigma Pi the past two years, and I am constantly humbled by the amount you do for our organization and our students.
Teach For America exists for the 14 million children who are growing up in poverty in our country. In the United States, where a child is born determines his/her educational prospects, and by fourth grade, children living in low-income communities are already two to three grades behind their higher-income peers. It is shocking that only one in ten of these students will graduate from college.
At Teach For America, we believe that it does not have to be this way. That is why your support is so crucial. Whether your chapter participated in the Backpack Attack, held a comedy show fundraiser, or raised money through a 5k run, you are helping close the achievement gap. You are helping ensure that each child in this country receives the strong education s/he deserves. You are giving all of our nation’s students a future.
Thank you for joining the movement to end educational inequity.
Sincerely,
Lara Altman
Senior Associate, Non-Profit Alliances
S. Pompelia, Beta Nu Chapter '08, TFA '08 Program Director, Mississippi Delta
Saturday, September 13, 2008
I wanted to send along my thanks to the Brothers of Phi Sigma Pi for all they do for Phi Sigma Pi. There are many moments in life where I have been extremely proud to be a Brother--one of my proudest moments was a couple weeks ago when I had just finished a training session for Teach for America and they told us that next door there were free school supplies for the taking. These school supplies were all donated from Phi Sigma Pi and their annual backpack drive. You could not believe how quickly everything disappeared. I was able to grab some crayons and pencil sharpeners which have been a huge blessing. One of my friends picked up a backpack, ecstatic that one of her little second graders would now have something to carry all her stuff in. Please let my Brothers know what a huge impact they are doing by things like the Backpack Drive and other fundraisers and awareness activities they do on their campuses throughout the United States. I am also really excited for Alternative Break when Brothers will be working with TFA in my region!
Sincerely,
S. Pompelia
Beta Nu Alum