Local Community Support

SPA employees care about their communities and give back throughout the year. Some of our community activities include the following:

• Support for veterans and first responders
• Annual food, toy, socks, and winter coat drives in the DC area
• Annual collection of backpacks and supplies for local schools
• Volunteering with Reading Partners as tutors
• Volunteering for STEM-related projects in local high schools
• Supporting The Spend Yourself® Food Pantry, providing Christmas gifts for children in the Falls Church, VA, area, along with cash donations to The Spend® Food Pantry
• Participating in 5k and 10k runs for nonprofit organizations such as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, St. Jude’s Hospital, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
• Participating in blood drives
• Donating to military service-related nonprofits such as Folds of Honor and Gold Star Families
• Donating to nonprofits such as NCNW that advance opportunities for African-American women
• Volunteering with disaster relief and refugee assistance groups such as Team Rubicon and Homes Not Borders.

We also participate in the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Adopt a Highway program, helping to clear roadway debris twice a year.

Trip Barber and Rocket Science

By day, Arthur H. (Trip) Barber serves as SPA’s Chief Analyst, advising our employees and customers on complex analytical issues. Off the clock, Trip continues to put his aerospace engineering degree to good use as the founder and manager of The American Rocketry Challenge.

Driven by a lifelong love of rocketry and a desire to elevate the next generation of aerospace professionals, he provides weekly mentorship to students at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, VA, a top high school in the country. The students competing in this year’s challenge mark a special 20th anniversary for Trip and TARC. Some participating TJ students are pictured with Trip, below. 

Trip’s service to the community is a testament to SPA’s volunteer spirit and culture of mentorship. Thank you, Trip!