Part of Academy’s mission is to advocate for community volunteering. This year, students have been very engaged in a variety of volunteering activities that help better the community. Some of these opportunities include Tennis for Fun, Celebrate Birthdays, L.A.M.B, hurricane relief, mission days, and much more.
Each Friday from November to April, Tennis for Fun takes place from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the High Five center in Brandon. Tennis for Fun is an organization that helps people with special needs to enjoy learning how to play tennis while getting to make new friends. Volunteers who know how to play tennis can help teach the athletes the skills they need in order to potentially qualify for the Special Olympics. If volunteers do not know how to play tennis, they can still help toss balls to the athletes and clean up the equipment.
Celebrate Birthdays is an organization that helps children in foster care have fun birthday celebrations that make them feel special. Volunteer opportunities for Celebrate Birthdays include assembling gift bags, wrapping presents, and assembling/cleaning up celebration events. In addition, Celebrate Birthdays is also involved with promoting literacy in children.
L.A.M.B is an organization that raises money for Pediatric Cancer research through events like galas. This organization was founded because Academy alumni, Luana Palomà (’96) wanted to provide resources to families with children experiencing long-term suffering from Pediatric Cancer, like her late brother, Lawrence. In addition to raising money, L.A.M.B hosts holiday celebrations, parties, and food deliveries for families with pediatric oncology patients. Volunteers even renovated a sick child’s room through a new program the organization started called “Room for Change.” Sasha Palomà (‘26), daughter of Luana, said, “Through L.A.M.B, I have learned the responsibility of caring for oncology families in need. There is an honest joy I feel whenever I help these families find a little bit more happiness throughout their day.”
Hurricane Relief:
Although Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton devastated the Tampa Bay area, Academy girls were fortunately able to lend a helping hand during the clean up process. After both hurricanes, students helped clean properties of the elderly who otherwise would have been unable to easily repair damage. Students also helped their own friends and family repair any potential damage. Most notably, Director of Student Activities and English teacher Angela Leavens received help from students who took time to pick up debris in her backyard. Leavens said, “Having students help me with the clean-up was a relief and helped me save some time as well. It meant a lot that they would spend some of their weekend, which is meant for relaxing, to come and help me instead.”
Mission Days:
Quarterly throughout the school year, Academy students spend the school day volunteering at different organizations across the Tampa Bay area, helping members of the community who are in need. As of November 13, 2024, the sophomores participated in their mission day, volunteering at locations including, the Community Food Pantry, the Humane Society, Metropolitan Ministries, and Inspired Living. Students provided assistance at these organizations by cleaning, delivering food, helping animals, and spending time with the elderly and disabled.
Sophomore Sydney Hinds (’27), who reflects positively on her mission day experience, said, “I went to the Humane Society and was faced with underprivileged pets who didn’t have any loving families. That day, I was able to help feed and clean the living space of abandoned kittens. It was a truly blessed experience that let me see a different perspective of the struggles both animals and people face on a daily basis.”
Mission days are important ways for students to gain perspective into the daily struggles of lesser fortunate members of the community as well as insightful ways to provide them assistance.
Mission Trips:
Throughout the year, Academy organizes optional mission trips where students travel in order to participate in volunteering activities for a local community. Usually, these trips take place on weekends, holiday breaks, or summer and last from a few days to up to a week. In the past, students have traveled to places like Plant City, Florida; San Juan, Texas; and the Dominican Republic. While attending these volunteer-oriented trips, students made long lasting contributions and impacts on the people they served. Students left a positive mark on the community by painting and cleaning properties, interacting with local children, and running summer camps. Additionally, students learned useful new skills and gained experience interacting with people with a variety of different backgrounds. Naomi Tamulski (‘27) said, “I really enjoyed my experience serving in the Dominican Republic because there was so much unity and teamwork involved in everything we did. The people there were so welcoming and generous.”
Additional Upcoming Opportunities:
There are various chances for students to volunteer with The Spring of Tampa Bay, Feeding TampaBay, and Metropolitan Ministries. In addition, there are many more specific events that take place at local schools and organizations. For events with specific days, please refer to the Mission and Ministries official list of volunteer opportunities.
