P H I L A N T H R O P Y D U R I N G A PA N D E M I C
The London Reception
Portsmouth Abbey School entered the 2019-20 school year with several lofty goals for development and alumni affairs. The first was to continue the School’s streak of consecutive record-setting Annual Funds which had been extended to six years following the 2018-19 campaign. The second aimed to close out the Securing Our Academic Future: Science in the 21st Century at Portsmouth Abbey campaign with a $1 million challenge. And the third involved expanding the School’s international outreach through travel to Central and South American and Europe while continuing domestic engagement through a series of regional and national receptions.
December 31. The School had just completed a successful trip to England in January for a reception hosted by Jose Vicini ’96 and his wife Elle at Annabel’s in London. This well-attended event complemented travel in Central and South America a few months earlier. By the grace of God, the year seemed to be going according to plan as Spring Break started in early March. Then coronavirus arrived and changed everything… almost! It did not change the spirit, fortitude, and generosity of the Abbey community in support of our singular institution.
With the world in lockdown by mid-March, the Office of Development and Alumni Affairs turned its focus to virtual and digital engagement of our community. Our second annual Giving Day, which had originally been scheduled for March 31st, was postponed to June. Receptions for Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Washington DC and Denver were held via Zoom. While virtual receptions were no replacement for gathering in person, we were grateful be able to connect with many of you around the country through this new digital platform. The Office of Development and Alumni Affairs also undertook making care and concern contact with as many of our alumni as possible either via email or by phone. Importantly, the School launched a new, From left, Ligia Vela’11, Elle Vicini, Jenny Singer’95, José Vicini’96 and Jay Yao’10 long-awaited Online Alumni Directory allow-
By February of 2020, the School was well on its way to accomplishing each of these goals. The $1 million challenge for the science building campaign had reached $836,688. The Annual Fund stood at a record high as of
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P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
