Why We Give

Because Trinity Has Given to Us

Onan overcast spring day, Trinity grandparents Ronald and Jean Copeland sit on rockers outside their red-colored neighborhood market store, greeting guests as they come and go. Ronald points toward the corner of the intersection and shares, “Every September, a little sign goes up over there saying ‘Ragan and Holly’s Pumpkin Patch.’”

Ronald’s grandfather founded the Copeland family business in 1918, and what was once a nursery has since blossomed into a neighborhood market, a mulching business, a pumpkin farm, and a strawberry patch. The pumpkin patch, which opened after the Copelands’ granddaughters Ragan ’20 and Holly ’23

Copeland started attending Trinity, has provided an extra source of income to fund the girls’ Trinity education. “God has blessed us way, way, beyond what we ever would have deserved,” Ronald says. Jean enjoys the continual flow of Trinity families to the farm in the spring and fall. “I always look forward to moms coming to the farm with their Trinity students, and I look to the future when those same students will come here as moms.”

Dick and Peggy Garner, Ragan and Holly’s maternal grandparents, have spent countless hours behind the wheel of their car, making their way from their home in Myrtle Beach, SC, to Trinity, where they’ve supported their granddaughters’ events. “My granddaughters have learned to be loving, kind, and compassionate at Trinity,” says Peggy. Dick believes the most important way he and his wife have given back has been to show up and partner with the school. “It’s very unusual to have both sets of grandparents alive. That’s been a critical part of Ragan and Holly’s time at Trinity.”

Lisa and Will Copeland, Ragan and Holly’s parents, also believe in giving back. They’ve been faithful volunteers at Trinity from the girls’ first days at the school until now, helping with everything from chauffeuring field trips to serving in the Trinity Parent Organization. “Driving was my specialty,” says Lisa. “I had a Suburban and I would load it up with kids.” In the early days of Trinity, kindergarten classes took field trips to the farm to pick strawberries, and Lisa and Will often opened their home for Trinity pool parties.

Just as the family has been generous to Trinity through their farm and their service, they have also been generous through their finances. Together, the Copeland and Garner families have a combined 20 years of annual fund support. “Money isn’t worth a nickel in the bank if you don’t do something with it,” Ronald says, “and we want to do something with it.” Dick couldn’t agree more. “We want to support whatever we can, as long as we can,” he says. Sharing their time, treasure, and talents with the school flows from their desire to make an impact and give back in return for what they feel their grandchildren have already been given.

“The Trinity motto that your kid is known and loved is one hundred percent true for our girls,” Lisa shares. “To know that they are known and loved has helped shape and mold who they are today.” Ragan graduated from Trinity in 2020, and her sister Holly has just turned the tassel to the other side to complete her Trinity education. As the family looks to the future, they are optimistic about staying connected to the school.

“Trinity helped nurture in my children a great amount of feeling and knowing,” Lisa says, “and I really feel that they will be grateful for the rest of their lives for the education and love that they received here.”

The Trinity Fund allows us to continue to offer an education in which each student is known and loved as a unique person created in God’s image. When you give to the Trinity Fund, you are playing a central role in what God is doing at Trinity— providing an education that’s rich, unhurried, and focused on building a future generation of virtuous Christian leaders.

By the Numbers

353 individuals, families, foundations, and companies gave $426 average gift size / $1,362 average giving by household