National TRIO Day is a day of celebration, reflection, and action around increased access to higher education for disadvantaged students. Federal TRIO programs help low-income and first-generation students enter college and earn a college degree. Every year on the last Saturday of February, high school and college students, teachers, members of Congress, local officials, TRIO program staff, participants, alumni and many others:

Celebrate the positive impact of federal TRIO programs in our communities throughout the nation

Reflect on the importance of educational opportunity programs in creating a fairer society for all Americans

Act to protect and further access to higher education for low-income and first-generation students

Those who celebrate National TRIO Day: 

• Hold special gatherings, campus forums, open houses, or award ceremonies
• Obtain proclamations or resolutions from governors, mayors, councils, institutional presidents, etc
• Ask members of Congress to present floor speeches about federal TRIO programs
• Give presentations about TRIO to institutional governing boards, churches, or local civic groups
   

TRIO Leaders asked Congress to proclaim February 28, 1986 as "National TRIO Day" to increase awareness and rally support for the programs. The House and Senate declared a concurrent resolution, which detailed the negative impact of the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Act on TRIO Programs (1986). TRIO staff, students, and alumni participated in the first National TRIO Day by organizing local political activities that communicated the significance of TRIO programs to their representatives in Congress and other local politicians. 
-- Sourced from National TRIO clearinghouse