Trinity Community Commons

Hey neighbor -

Today is Giving Tuesday. And while I’m grateful for the focus on generosity (you should absolutely donate to TCC: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/donate-to-tcc), I think we get this day all wrong.

Thanksgiving is often spent with extended family, close friends, or whomever we feel most at home with. Tables are full of incredible food. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday quickly follow before giving a nod to charity on Giving Tuesday.

Our generosity doesn’t need to be separated from how we view family, or from who we say belongs in our neighborhood. Our generosity can be an integral part of our daily lives, and the way we give can empower and draw neighbors closer into our community as full and equal participants - rather than keeping them dependent and separate.

If you’re looking to close the gap between gratitude and giving, and between yourself and your neighbor in need, come be a part of what we’re growing at TCC: a community rich with purpose and belonging.

You can impact your neighbors in these tangible, life giving ways:

$10 shares a meal with a neighbor. You can also show up to community dinners on Tuesdays, bring a dish, and build a mutually supportive relationship with neighbors who didn’t have a family to call home this Thanksgiving.

$75 helps operate our third space to host community events that empower and connect. You can also attend and even host community events yourself.

$250 helps fund architects who are designing new affordable homes for families who need it most. And after we build those homes together, you can grow herbs, vegetables, and flowers alongside our new neighbors in our shared community garden. You can raise your families together. You can invite them into your home for Thanksgiving dinner. Or maybe they’ll invite you into theirs.

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/donate-to-tcc

Hey neighbors -

By now you’ve probably seen that SNAP benefits (food stamps, EBT) could be delayed for 700,000+ Tennesseans. You might have also seen that a federal judge recently granted a restraining order blocking the effort to pause SNAP. While that’s being sorted out, new federal work requirements also mean that some of our unhoused neighbors will also lose access to food assistance. 1 in 10 Tennesseans receive food aid from SNAP. And over 40% of recipients are children under the age of 18.

This is incredibly confusing and almost certain to result in neighbors losing access to food they need.

Here are four ways you can help your neighbors:

1. Bring a Kroger gift card to TCC next week ($25, $50, $100, or any amount you’re willing to give)

2. Bring a dish to share with neighbors at dinner, any Tuesday night, from 4-7pm

3. Bring or buy supplies we use to host free, weekly community dinners for all our neighbors

4. Volunteer to share resources at dinner on Tuesday

Why Kroger cards, and how will this work?

Gift cards let people losing SNAP benefits shop for the food they want and need. It’s simpler, more direct, and more efficient than any other option. We’ll give the gift cards we collect to Open Table Nashville and Safe Haven Family Shelter to share with individuals and families they are already working with and who are affected by SNAP delays.

We’ll also share gift cards with TCC neighbors in need and a bunch of other great organizations working with neighbors across Nashville.

If you can’t drop off gift cards at community dinners on Tuesday nights, you can drop off at TCC and these two other locations:

Safe Haven Family Shelter
1234 3rd Ave South, Nashville, TN 37210
M-F, 9-4

City Road UMC for Open Table Nashville
701 Gallatin Pike S, Nashville, TN 37115
M-F, 9-4

Why bring a dish on Tuesdays?

If you know neighbors who are losing food assistance, then you’re already in the perfect position to support them directly, as their friend and neighbor. If you don’t know any families or individuals struggling to afford groceries, then come join us for dinner on Tuesday.

We’re building a web of relationships among diverse neighbors so that we can take care of each other during times like these. We’re stronger together, and we can absolutely feed many of our immediate neighbors when we come together.

When you bring a dish to share at TCC, you’re doing so much more than just feeding your neighbor. You’re welcoming them into a family style potluck experience that they can contribute to right alongside you. You’re creating a shared sense of belonging, identity, and purpose that we all need to thrive.

Not everyone has a home, or a kitchen, or time to cook, but all of us have worth and potential, and everyone we welcome at dinner is a valued member of this community.

Come help us create the kind of community third space where everyone belongs and no one goes hungry.

Get your tickets to our annual fundraiser here!

Saturday, October 11th, 6-9pm @ TCC

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/tickets-2025-fundraising-dinner