Torrance, CA (September 17, 2020): Today, Bishop Montgomery's longest-running service organization, Concordia Club, hosted a drive-thru toiletries collection to gather much-needed items for a downtown Los Angeles women's shelter. In Bishop's east parking lot, Concordia Club moderator Laura Fabbri and BMHS Vice Principal Yvette Vigon-Morffi, both donning masks, greeted cars as they arrived for the 2:00-3:00pm drop-off. To follow C-19 social-distancing and health guidelines, Fabbri created a drop-off area where donors could leave their items safely and at a distance from her and Vigon-Morffi, as well as other drivers and passengers.
With only social media and Bishop's virtual daily morning bulletin to promote the event, some worried that the effort might be futile-- that few people would jump in their cars and venture to campus to support the drive. But, proving otherwise, a line of cars from Torrance Boulevard created an almost steady stream of traffic into the parking lot for the entire hour. "I was incredibly overwhelmed by the support and by the donations from so many of our student and parents," said Fabbri. "I was hopeful that we'd get a fair amount of supplies to donate, but by the time the drive concluded and we loaded up all of the donations, my Suburban was filled... hundreds, if not thousands, of supplies were donated." Fabbri also noted that the amount of toiletries donated today, in just one hour, far exceeded the amounts collected during traditional two-week long toiletry drives held on campus in past years.