Against Coronavirus MASC: Adam Specht ’23 Adam Specht is working with Masks for a Safer Community (MASC), a local effort to collect funds for new masks for senior living communities. The effort was initiated by Adam's friend Justin Huebl, a student at Winston Churchill High School. MASC collected donations through GoFundMe to help them donate masks to many seniors, including masks for residents of ManorCare in Potomac. Nicole King ’07 adolescents and adults and works part-time with a local mobile crisis agency, helping many to deal with stress and mental health issues in the midst of the pandemic. Clinical Therapist: Cristina AstradaKeeling ’01 Cristina Astrada-Keeling, LCPC, is a clinical therapist and program manager of Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies program in Gaithersburg. She works with low-income and uninsured immigrant families and a number of clients in the African-American community via teletherapy sessions for families and children, and through case management helps connect families with community resources. Through the HMHB program, she takes time to distribute diapers and other baby products to clients in need. Tally Ho Meals: Andreas Vellios ’97 Andreas Vellios and Tally Ho Restaurant in Potomac have been bringing meals to healthcare workers and first responders. Gift card purchases are helping Tally Ho feed frontline workers at Shady Grove Hospital, Holy Cross Hospital, Bethesda police, Montgomery County Firefighters, and more, as a thank you for helping to keep so many safe at this time.
Bullis Gives Back: Sloane Bernstein ’21 In May, Sloane Bernstein, president of the Bullis Gives Back Club, hosted a donation drive in collaboration with So What Else, a nonprofit co-founded by Bullis alumnus Dave Silbert ’96. Donations of food, clothing, books, games, masks, diapers, and more were collected to help families in need during the COVID-19 crisis. Medical Supplies for China: Bullis International Students This spring, a group of Bullis international students worked together to support others directly affected by COVID-19. They raised over $1,900 to purchase medical supplies in China to help people there. When the crisis
From left: Jerry Qian, Leo Chen, and Frank Sha
began, these Bullis students acted quickly to help others. PPE Production: Carolyn Tang ’22 Carolyn Tang teamed with students from Walt Whitman High School, Winston Churchill High School, Herbert Hoover Middle School, and Crestview Middle School to find creative ways to make much-needed personal protective equipment (PPE). The team made face masks, protective gowns, and face shields using simple household materials like plastic sheets, fabric, sheet protectors, staples, tape, rubber bands, yarn, and more. Carolyn and her team donated the PPE to area hospitals accepting handmade items for use. House of Ruth: Clare Harvey ’22 Bullis student Clare Harvey purchased supplies and made masks for the House of Ruth in Washington, D.C., a shelter for women and children who have suffered from domestic violence. Learning online how to make masks, Clare collected materials, created the items, and brought them on her own to the House of Ruth. Peace First: Kade Friedlander ’21 While public school campuses were closed in Montgomery County, Kade Friedlander worked with Peace First to help make sure that Montgomery County students and families had information about school meal resources to obtain meals for children at home. Like Sloane Bernstein ’21, Kade also worked with So What Else to help others. Nurse Practitioner at the Front Line: Cyndi Bullis Vasco ’83, P’20, ’21 As a CRNP (certified registered nurse practitioner) in the radiology department at MedStar’s Washington Hospital Center, Cyndi Bullis Vasco is working with COVID-19 patients and often quarantines from her family. She appreciates the perspective her work provides on what really matters in life. Read Cyndi’s Alumni profile on page 40.
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