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Throughout the years, two University of Detroit Mercy alumni have earned many different titles: pastor, entrepreneur, teacher, community leader, student. But \u201cgiver\u201d has been the headline on nearly every article the two have been featured in, and for good reason.<\/p>\n
Rev. Deidric Tupper, pastor of New Faith Temple Church of God in Christ and CEO of the New Faith Temple Community Development Corp., alongside his wife Natasha Tupper, founder of The Polished Institute, have dedicated their lives to the service of others.<\/p>\n
The small ministry located in Grand Rapids, Mich., has managed to create big change within their local community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do the things that we\u2019re called to do,\u201d Natasha said.<\/p>\n
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Their imagination holds no bounds when it comes to giving back. In spring 2022, the nonprofit organization raised nearly $500,000 worth of new clothes, toys, household items, d\u00e9cor, crafting tools and more that they gave away to the community through a wallet-free shopping experience they\u2019ve coined #NFTGives.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we hear the stories of the direct impact that our programs are making within the communities we serve, it only makes us want to provide more \u2014 give back more,\u201d said Deidric.<\/p>\n
Through partnerships with companies such as DTE Energy, Grand Rapids Public Schools, the State of Michigan Governor\u2019s Office and many more, the duo has been able to facilitate numerous initiatives, including running after-school programing, a food pantry and providing free furnace tune-ups to help their community.<\/p>\n
They are especially proud of a driver\u2019s license restoration clinic they coordinated thanks to those partnerships.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething that seems so basic to most is an enormous obstacle for those without,\u201d Natasha said. \u201cAn expired license could hinder employment; a mom can\u2019t volunteer at her child\u2019s school. Having a valid driver\u2019s license means economic empowerment.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The clinic provides a one-stop-shop of resources for residents to help resolve any qualifying issues that fall under Michigan\u2019s Clean Slate legislation. Volunteer lawyers and Secretary of State representatives help residents walk out of the New Temple Faith ministry with a valid driver\u2019s license.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you see people who haven\u2019t had their driver\u2019s license for 10, 15, 20 years, quite naturally, you\u2019ll know that in many conditions and circumstances they\u2019re still driving to work, they\u2019re still going to the supermarket, still taking their children to the doctors and going to school,\u201d Deidric said. \u201cHow the system is currently designed causes a domino effect. You lose your license you can\u2019t get a job; applications say ‘do you have a valid driver\u2019s license,’ those people have to say no and that may determine if they get the position or not.\u201d<\/p>\n
None of the services or partnerships they provide have any cost associated with them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people are hugging you with tears in their eyes saying thank you for what we\u2019re doing, that gratification is unmatched,\u201d Deidric said. \u201cThe direct impact that our programs are making within the communities we serve, it only makes us want to provide more \u2014 give back more.\u201d<\/p>\n
The impact they are creating within the Grand Rapids area hasn\u2019t gone unnoticed, and the two were recently chosen to preach at a church in need just a 35-minute drive south.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a holistic approach with our ministry,\u201d Deidric said. \u201cWe have our church and nonprofit, and I\u2019ve recently been appointed to pastor another church in Kalamazoo, The Tabernacle Church of God in Christ, where we started the Tabernacle Community Development Corp., another nonprofit. It\u2019s important that we also be impactful there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The additional location has increased the duo\u2019s giving power, raising another $500,000 worth of items that were given away.<\/p>\n
After years of philanthropy, the Tupper team seem to have narrowed down their algorithm to improve, facilitate and administer programs and services throughout their communities. But they didn\u2019t do it alone.<\/p>\n
The Detroit native’s devotion to giving back didn\u2019t reveal itself overnight, but rather it was demonstrated to them during key moments throughout their lives, even prior to finding each other.<\/p>\n
Natasha recalled the pivotal preteen experience that changed the course of her path and inspired her to build her business that focuses on empowering girls and women through confidence training.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI was causing trouble in school and to avoid punishment, I ran away to my girlfriend\u2019s house to vent to her, but she didn\u2019t have time to listen. She was in the Explorer program and she had a meeting that night and instead invited me to come along,\u201d Natasha said. \u201cI must say that from that point on, it caused a tremendous change in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Almost immediately, Natasha became deeply involved in the Explorer program, an extracurricular designed to give teenagers and young adults hands-on law enforcement experience through volunteer opportunities and group outings.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was able to link up with some fabulous mentors that changed the entire trajectory of my life,\u201d she said. \u201cI learned things that I had never even heard of.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat one moment in my life, running away from a punishment, turned into a life lesson I wasn\u2019t searching for. It had a large impact not only on my life as a child, but now as an adult I can turn that into a teaching moment for others.\u201d<\/p>\n
The more involved Natasha became, not only in the Explorer program, but within her community and church, the more she understood what her neighborhood went without.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could literally see the issues that these communities were facing,\u201d Natasha recalled of her adolescent years. \u201cI saw the devastation, I saw the need, but I\u2019m thankful that I also had people that helped me see beyond my own situation and showed me that I could do whatever it needed to be, to be a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Being the solution would become a fundamental theme in Natasha\u2019s life and years later she would see that same value in the man she now calls her husband.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne day we ran into each other at our church in Detroit, got to talking and found all these hidden connections,\u201d Deidric said while recalling the pair\u2019s first encounter.<\/p>\n
They soon found that their similarities outweighed their differences, and their combined drive to make a difference in people\u2019s lives, made them inseparable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe worked together at city hall, we went to church together, and then we decided to embark on our educational journey together,\u201d said Natasha. \u201cIt made the journey all that more exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Their Detroit Mercy education may not have sparked their drive to serve others, but it stoked the flames.<\/p>\n
In 2007, they both earned their Bachelor of Arts degrees from the College of Liberal Arts & Education, Deidric in Economics and Natasha in Religious Studies.<\/p>\n
The two recall their main draw to the University was the mission that blended the intellectual with the spiritual sides of education, solidifying their decision to enroll.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a huge draw that Detroit Mercy was a Jesuit and Mercy institution. I come from a strong Christian background, as does my wife, and I wanted to be at an institution that had those types of values,\u201d Deidric said. \u201cI liked that we had the opportunity to interact with our professors more due to the class sizes and engage with those around us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Tupper pair say they owe a lot to the educators of Detroit Mercy for teaching them not only how to successfully dedicate their own lives to serving, but how to inspire others as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can remember a lesson after finishing a community project serving food to the homeless, my professor at the time discussed how we aren\u2019t that far removed from those we help, and the things we have in common outweigh the things we don\u2019t,\u201d Natasha said. \u201cThat lecture \u2014 it changed the way I served.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although the two were pursuing different concentrations, they remember the courses that focused on community outreach \u2014 the ones they happened to take together \u2014 most fondly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was community projects like that, that made us expand our reach,\u201d Deidric said. \u201cWe would bring back the lessons we learned to our places of work and inspire others to do outreach, but not just by devoting time, but also by opening a dialogue and talking about what they felt. It\u2019s during that time that it turns into meaningful work because it begins to change your attitude, your mindset and you approach other areas in your life and career differently.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the mind connections that we made going to Detroit Mercy. The focus is not only one of intellect, but it also reaches the ethical and spiritual. It\u2019s a holistic approach to student development.\u201d<\/p>\n
Key moments within the lives of the Tupper couple have allowed them to learn from mistakes, find their intrinsic motivation and ultimately create a life that revolves around the welfare of others.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll never forget one Bible study in particular, during a time in my life where I had been losing faith in my elected officials, my pastor began to talk about Joseph from the Bible, how he became the highest appointee and how this young man stood in the gap for his people.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat moment was so transformational for me at that time,\u201d said Deidric before a long pause. \u201cI realized that even just one person can stand in that gap and make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
He choked back tears recalling the memory and without hesitation Natasha finished the thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe strive to be those people who stand in that gap,\u201d she said. \u201cWe provide an open door for the people who need it the most.\u201d<\/p>\n