GIRLS HIGH & EINSTEIN

It all started with one question from alumna Judy Hasday, a member of Girls High class of 1975… “What we could do to support healthcare workers affected by COVID-19?” Her idea was to post a challenge to alumnae sisters on their Facebook group to raise money for needed supplies for health care practitioners.

The group did just that. Their fundraiser, Einstein’s Extraordinary Response in Extraordinary Times campaign raised $4,832, with 96 members of the Alumnae Association contributing an average of $50 per donation. The majority of funds were raised online via Network for Good, the Association’s donations management platform. Several alumnae, who prefer to not enter credit card information online, sent checks. However, all solicitation and contact were via e-mail and social media.

“We knew we wanted Einstein to benefit from this as Philadelphia High School for Girls and the hospital are part of the iconic landscape at Broad and Olney,” explains Marcia Hinton, Executive Director of the Association. “Our two institutions have been neighbors for generations. We knew that we could not contribute to every institution where our alumnae work. We decided to set up a scrolling ‘in honor of’ space on the donation page for sisters to thank specific medical professionals or institutions, but that Einstein would be the direct beneficiary.”

Azeb Kinder, president of the Association, adds, “We know that healthcare workers are at a greater risk during this pandemic as they strive to provide care to our community members. At Girls’ High, we were taught that community is paramount in the advancement of humanity in general. As a pillar in the community — both the hyper-local Logan area and in Philadelphia — and an institution that we all saw every day as students, we knew that it was our responsibility to give back.”