Arizona Conference (Left) TAA students assemble bags of food for people in developing nations at a Feed My Starving People center. (Below) TAA dorm students fill bags with food to be delivered to the homeless, along with socks and hygiene kits, in San Bernardino, Calif.
Making a Difference— Locally and Globally By Tanna MW Allison
“Y
ou, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love” (Galatians 5:13, NIV). The students and staff of Thunderbird Adventist Academy embrace service throughout the year and participate in various community service activities. January 2020 was a month filled with outreach for TAA— giving back to the local community and beyond. The campus citrus orchard, with over 40 grapefruit and orange trees, is a blessing to have in the desert of Arizona. When the fruit is ripe, students are often seen walking by the orchard during a break, picking a piece of fruit and eating it. One Sabbath afternoon, Campus Ministries Director Zachary Surovec
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coordinated students to pick citrus from the orchard, which was then taken to the local St. Mary’s Food Bank. The fresh fruit was distributed to those in the surrounding community who utilize the services of the food bank. The month wrapped up with TAA’s dorm students and deans participating in their annual community service trip to California. This year they traveled to serve the San Bernardino area. The first stop was to fill over 75 bags with nonperishable items and fresh fruit and vegetables at the Helping Hands Community Center. The overflowing food bags, along with 50 hygiene kits and 150 pairs of socks, were then handed out to the homeless the next day at Socombe Lake Park. While the dorm students were serving in California, the rest of the
school headed to the local Feed My Starving Children center—a Christian non-profit organization with centers across the nation that coordinate the packaging and distribution of food to people in developing nations. On the day TAA volunteered, Manna Packs of vitamins, soy, protein, and rice were assembled. The Manna Packs were then sealed and boxed for shipment to Thailand. Sophomore Priscilla Carreto said, “It was fun! Seeing the impact of our work at the end of the day was cool.” Together with other community volunteers, the students packed 222 boxes, providing 47,952 meals. These meals will feed 131 children for an entire year. These small acts of love are just a few examples of how the Thunderbird Adventist Academy family serves as the hands and feet of Jesus in action throughout the year.
