Morgan Park Academy students, families, alumni, faculty, and staff have been demonstrating our shared values in helping our healthcare professionals, first responders, and other essential service providers receive much-needed personal protective equipment (PPE) to fight the spread of the new coronavirus.

FAMILIES RAISE THOUSANDS FOR PPE DONATION

In the largest effort so far, a group of MPA families helped fund the donation of tens of thousands of surgical masks, N95 masks, protective goggles, and medical gowns to Chicago hospitals.

Led by a donation from the family of sophomore Lana Liu, the families of MPA students Frank Li, Shane Liu, Wayne Zhang, Chris Chen, Joshua Sun, and Desmond Yang, and alumnus Connor Hu contributed to a fund established by Cornerstone Education and the Illinois chapter of the national nonprofit and civic organization United Chinese Americans.

The group delivered PPE supplies to Rush University Medical Center on April 7 and to the University of Chicago Medical Center on April 27, and plans to visit Mercy Hospital and Medical Center as well.

ALUMNI HELP THE STATE ACQUIRE MILLIONS OF MASKS

Keeping alive the MPA tradition of service, alumni Marc Dabaco ’03 and Jason Salerno ’06 worked with their family’s importing company to facilitate the state’s acquisition of millions of KN95 respirator masks and surgical masks and bring them from China for local use.

As managing partners at JMI Sales Group, the two cousins work with their uncle, John Mikulski, to sell and import products and equipment for hardware stores, farming and ranching, convenience stores, industrial use, and more. That expertise came in handy when the State of Illinois needed help securing, fulfilling, and shipping a personal protective equipment (PPE) order from China.

In other efforts:

  • A student service project led by junior Frank Li is donating hundreds of protective masks in our local neighborhood, including the Smith Village retirement community.
  • Lower & Middle School principal Heather Kurut started a sewing group that has created more than 600 fabric masks.
  • Lou Saggione, our director of buildings and grounds, volunteered last weekend with construction of the field hospital at McCormick Place.

Thank you, all, for doing what you can to help. Stay safe!