Share:

“We’ve used the Smile program for a year or two because it’s a convenient, if quite modest, addendum to our support for Thomas Aquinas College,” says John Dunlap, father of Dave (’03), Ben (’05), Nathan (’12), and Anna (O’Reilly ’12). Mr. Dunlap and his wife, Vicki, have been faithful benefactors of the College for more than 25 years. So, when the couple learned that they could augment their support every time they made a purchase from Amazon, they readily seized the opportunity.

They do so via Amazon Smile, a philanthropic program through which the online-retail giant donates .5 percent of the price of all eligible purchases to the charitable organization of its customers’ choice. A good number of alumni and friends have designated TAC as their non-profit, raising more than $7,500 for the College to date — a helpful contribution, but far below what could be achieved if all alumni, parents, and friends were to so leverage their Amazon purchases.

“Shopping through Amazon Smile is such an easy way of supporting the wonderful institution that is Thomas Aquinas College, and it costs you nothing,” says Eloisa Silva, mother of Juliana and Cristiana, a junior and sophomore, respectively, on the California campus. “It is no different from any other shopping through Amazon, as products, prices, and features are the same.”

To support the College via your online shopping, please visit smile.amazon.com and identify Thomas Aquinas College as your charitable recipient. Then, bookmark the Smile page, and use it every time you shop at Amazon. Mobile shoppers can participate in the Smile program by making a quick change to the settings on the Amazon Shopping app for Android or, for iOS users, shopping via Amazon’s mobile site at smile.amazon.com.

“Charities have received over $200 million from the Amazon Smile Foundation, and we can ensure TAC is one of them,” says Mrs. Silva. “Support faithful Catholic education by simply making sure you designate TAC as the charity of your choice!”