\u201cWe have to go through every donation. We have to check the inventory and make sure it\u2019s appropriate, you know, then package it up!\u201d Trainer said.<\/p>\n
Trainer is a stay-at-home mom in Trophy Club and, by her own description, a full-time Northwest ISD volunteer. She has helped with the Angel Tree almost every year since her family joined the district in 2020. Her service led to her nomination for 52 Faces of Community<\/a>, the Fort Worth Report\u2019s weekly series spotlighting unsung heroes.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a heart for the teachers and the educators and so whatever I can do to support them in supporting our kids is my passion,\u201d Trainer said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Welcome to 52 Faces<\/strong> 52 Faces of Community<\/a> is a Fort Worth Report weekly series spotlighting local unsung heroes. It is sponsored by Central Market<\/a>, H-E-B<\/a> and JPS Health Network<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the end of the year, these rarely recognized heroes will gather for a luncheon where the Report will announce one honoree to represent Tarrant County at the Jefferson Awards in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n While the Angel Tree may just be an abstract act of charity to most, it\u2019s personal for Trainer. She was once one of those \u201cangels\u201d herself \u2014 a student whose Christmas depended on the generosity of others. She has never forgotten the feeling of a donated gift arriving at her home.\u00a0<\/p>\n She still remembers her parents\u2019 faces.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know that we would have had a Christmas at all had it not been for the family that stepped up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Now, Trainer ensures other families don\u2019t face that same empty holiday.<\/p>\n The Angel Tree is open to about 7,000 Northwest ISD students who qualify for the state\u2019s free and reduced lunch program. Just under 2,000 turned in paperwork to receive gifts this year. Adults fill out questionnaires with clothing sizes, ages, interests and hobbies. Community members and companies can go online, adopt one or more \u201cangels,\u201d shop and return the gifts.<\/p>\n But about 10% of those angels never receive gifts.<\/p>\n That\u2019s when Trainer and other volunteers step in. They sort donations, flag missing items and spend a day at Target filling carts with toys and clothes based on each child\u2019s wish list.<\/p>\n Her volunteering stretches far beyond the holidays.<\/p>\n At Samuel Beck Elementary and Medlin Middle School, where her son attended, Trainer estimates she logged between 600 and 800 volunteer hours each school year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAll I was doing was supporting the teachers, loving on the teachers so that they could then love on our kids,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Sometimes, that looks simple: Coffee, copies or decorations.<\/p>\n \u201cWhatever. To just kind of give them that little, \u2018OK, somebody does see me. They understand,\u2019\u201d Trainer said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Trainer now spends much of her time with the district\u2019s education foundation and its teacher supply store, where staff can pick up classroom materials for free. She\u2019s part of a \u201csparkle squad\u201d that cleans and organizes the store so teachers have a pleasant place to shop.<\/p>\n That kind of support is especially important as districts face budget constraints, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe district had to cut things like custodial services<\/a>, so teachers are having to clean their rooms and take out trash,\u201d she said. \u201cTo have parents that are helping with other things that would lighten their load \u2026 it is so important.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou can find her wherever a helping hand is needed. We\u2019re grateful for her heart and dedication.\u201d<\/p>\n Alyssa Pry, Northwest ISD Education Foundation spokesperson<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Alyssa Pry, director of communications and public relations for the Northwest ISD Education Foundation, said Trainer has become \u201clike an extension of the NEF team,\u201d always looking for ways to support students, teachers and campuses.<\/p>\n \u201cTerri is always ready to jump in and provide support \u2014 from the resource store and library to the Angel Tree workshop,\u201d Pry said. \u201cYou can find her wherever a helping hand is needed. We\u2019re grateful for her heart and dedication.\u201d<\/p>\n Trainer also wants to push back on a misconception she hears from other parents.<\/p>\n Know an unsung hero in Tarrant County?<\/p>\n Tell us about them by filling out the form below. <\/p>\n \u201cThere is a misperception that once kiddos get out of elementary, the schools don\u2019t need volunteers anymore,\u201d she said. \u201cThat is not true. They still need volunteers. It just looks different because now it\u2019s not classroom parties and decorating bulletin boards. It\u2019s the stuff that is, again, supporting the educators who are trying to equip our kids to grow into functioning adults.\u201d<\/p>\n Her message to families is simple: Don\u2019t wait to be asked.<\/p>\n \u201cGet in where you can and offer what you\u2019re passionate about,\u201d she said. \u201cWhatever your gifts and talents are, they can find a use for it. I\u2019m telling you they can find a use for it.\u201d<\/p>\n For the Angel Tree and everything else she does in Northwest ISD, Trainer sees volunteers as an essential part of the system.<\/p>\n \u201cIf not us, then who?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @matthewsgroi1<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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