CROWDS4TUS
AND4OTHERS
On March 3, 2020, a New Rochelle resident became the first confirmed COVID-19 patient in Westchester County. Within days, the city of New Rochelle became the epicenter of the virus — the “Containment Zone”. The National Guard was deployed and the first drive thru testing site in the state opened at Glen Island Park. Like all schools and businesses in the one-mile containment zone, Ursuline closed its campus.
As local workers were laid off, cleaning supplies and food scarce, and children who rely on school lunch programs were home, HOPE Community Services in downtown New Rochelle reported an increase of 364% in the number of meals served from February. 2020 to March 2020 (56,654 meals in March, up from 15,566 just one month earlier). While needs grew exponentially, costs escalated as meals required individual packaging, volunteerism declined, and fundraising events were cancelled.
Thanks to a creative, tech savvy and resilient faculty and student body, the transition to remote learning was done quickly and with ease. The preparedness for that moment was due in large part to Annual Fund support. Our faculty are trained in the latest techniques and technology, we invest in our infrastructure and facilities, and our students receive the support and encouragement needed to adapt. The Annual Fund helps to cover the costs associated with all of these things, so we thank you for participating in fundraisers such as CROWDS4TUS that support the Annual Fund.
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When crises occur, it is the most vulnerable who are usually the worst affected. Ursuline’s Social Action Club immediately began conducting bi-weekly, outdoor, socially- distant food drives which provided some immediate relief to our struggling neighbors. We also reinvented our annual day of giving to become, CROWDS4TUS AND4OTHERS, allocating a quarter of the proceeds, $25,000, to HOPE Community Services and Community Service Associates in Mount Vernon. Additionally, we incorporated “Challenges” to benefit the two organizations (see at right).
THE URSULINE SCHOOL Annual Donor Report 2020
