Serenely perched up on a hill overlooking Route 22, Mount Saint Mary Academy is anything but removed from the community. The spirit of giving is alive and well year-round thanks to the H.O.P.E. Club, the school’s popular after-school activity. The acronym stands for Helping Other People Everywhere and focuses its work on community outreach.
Mount Saint Mary Academy, a Catholic college prep school for girls, was founded in 1908 when the land was gifted to the Sisters of Mercy from a man named David Kenny. There was just one stipulation…the nuns were to establish a school with the name Mary to honor his mother. No doubt Mr. Kenny’s mother would be proud of Mount Saint Mary’s Christian atmosphere and academic excellence with a special focus on women.
Donna Toryak, Director of Enrollment Management -and the moderator of the H.O.P.E. Club- has been at Mount Saint Mary for 34 years as well as being a graduate herself. “This is such a joy filled place to be. I never come up the hill in the morning and not want to be here.” Ms. Toryak created the H.O.P.E. Club to bring some of that joy and social interaction to the approximately forty-five retired sisters who live at the school as well as community outreach.
The girls write cards to the sisters with the sisters enthusiastically writing back. The H.O.P.E. Club meetings often involve a craft project given to the sisters to decorate their residence doors. The presence of the sisters is deeply felt by students and faculty. The feeling is mutual according to Sister Rosemary Hudak. “It was a difficult decision to leave the active life I loved and move to the Mount in retirement. When I first heard the Mount girls giggling and talking on their way to classes, my spirits were lifted. The girls bring an energy in their youth,” Sister Rosemary said. “They bring back fond memories of my own high school days, and I so enjoy seeing them every day and receiving their thoughtful cards and crafts.”
The sisters join the girls for a monthly H.O.P.E. Club BINGO game that brings lots of laughter and a strong sense of community according to Isabella DeLuca, Class of ’26. “Being a part of the H.O.P.E. Club has made me even more connected to the Mount’s call to service not only within the school but to outside organizations also where it’s needed most.”
The club upholds their name by running drives and collections throughout the year. Every February, the club holds a Cereal Drive with theming to match the Big Game Day excitement, collecting boxes of cereal for local charities including Starfish Food Pantry in Plainfield.In past years, the girls have run sock and coat drives. This year there is a special focus on women helping women with the H.O.P.E. Club helping to meet the needs of Elijah’s Promise in New Brunswick by collecting women’s underwear and feminine products.
“Our girls are so very special,” Ms. Toryak says. “We are so proud to empower them to be their best selves.”
If there is a need in your community, please reach out to Ms. Toryak at dtoryak@mountsaintmary.org for further information.
“Being a part of the H.O.P.E. Club has made me even more connected to the Mount’s call to service not only within the school but to outside organizations also where it’s needed most.”
“This is such a joy filled place to be. I never come up the hill in the morning and not want to be here.”