As an SNJM school community rooted in the Catholic tradition, we are invited to ever more deeply contemplate our core value focus service to people who are poor & marginalized. Sr. Lisa Perkowski was inspired to launch a mask-making campaign to serve healthcare professionals who are lacking necessary protective gear. For her work, the Super Bowl LV host committee recognized her with a virtual game ball!

Partnering with Hope For Tampa, Sr. Lisa, along with AHN staff and student volunteers, have donated more than 450 masks (and counting!) to health professionals throughout Tampa Bay, including Baycare Riverview, Morton Plant, Home Instead Senior Care, and Integrity Senior Services. The Academy has been asked to sew masks for Saint Joseph’s Hospital and John Hopkins All Children’s using a breakthrough design from the University of Florida. This new  mask repurposes a medical material most hospitals have in stock called Halyard, and was designed in response to the lack of N95 masks in hospitals. If you would like to participate and sew, please email Sr. Lisa.

Additional efforts include a technology drive for students in Hillsborough County who did not have access to a device for virtual school. To date, 21 devices have been donated to Alexander Elementary and Egypt Lake Elementary, where AHN alumnae work. The school is still collecting!

At the start of the quarantine, SAGE Dining, the Academy's lunch provider, and the Dads Club donated all perishable food and concessions to Metropolitan Ministries.

To learn how you can help with any of these drives, including T-shirt donations, visit our aid page.