The Mission Drive

Jesuit High School's annual Mission Drive dates back to the 1930s, though Mission Drive Day was established early in the 21st Century. Each spring over a five-week period, the school-wide, student-driven Mission Drive raises money for a worthy cause. It all culminates on Mission Drive Day, which includes a wonderful all-school music concert and an array of games, activities, food, and events across campus. Mission Drive Day food sales along with small entry fees for competitions such as dodgeball, video games, spikeball, and many more help generate funds for the Mission Drive.

Each year, the Mission Drive selects a new beneficiary, typically involving youth programs. View below recaps of each Mission Drive from 2015 through 2025, with links to a story about that particular mission drive and photos from Mission Drive Day. The 2026 Mission Drive beneficiary is The Lord's Ranch in the El Paso, Texas area, which was founded in the 1970s by Jesuit High School alumnus Fr. Rick Thomas, S.J. '45 to serve people in need in that region. Other recent beneficiaries have included locales such as Colombia, Nicaragua, Belize, and Belle Glade, Fla., as well as the Jesuit Prison Education Network (JPEN).

THE MISSION DRIVE: THROUGH THE YEARS

2025
When the fundraising efforts for Mission Drive 2025 were all added up, the students had raised $15,000! The beneficiary was the Jesuit Prison Education Network (JPEN), which is quickly making an extraordinary impact. Led by Fr. Thomas Curran, S.J., 11 Jesuit universities, including Boston College, Saint Louis, Rockhurst, and Marquette, all are participating in teaching college courses to the incarcerated in prisons, with great results for the individuals and society. About $5,400 of the $15,000+ was raised during Mission Drive Day via small fees associated with a cornucopia of activities, food sales, and various competitions. Those funds were added to the nearly $10,000 raised in four weeks of Mission Drive collections, led by the homerooms of Dan Noyes and Andy Wood '92 ($1,187) and Paula Collazo and Madeline LaFrenier ($1,088).

2024
The 2024 Mission Drive culminated with Mission Drive Day on April 26. When it was all finished, the drive had raised $16,500 for its beneficiary, St. Philip Benizi in Belle Glade and its youth programs, with nearly $6,000 of the total raised on Mission Drive Day. The homeroom of teachers David O’Sullivan and Mr. Peter Bell, S.J. was the classroom generosity champion ($1,100), outraising the runners-up homeroom of Dan Noyes and Andy Wood '92 ($944). Click here to read all about Mission Drive Day 2024 and for a link to photos.

2023
The 2023 Mission Drive was among the most remarkable ever, generating a record-shattering $18,689 for hurricane-damaged St. John's College High School in Belize City! Jesuit students and faculty raised $6,300 of that total on Mission Drive Day, on the final day of the month-long drive. The homeroom of teachers Henry Ibanez '86 and Andy Wood '92 was the school's most generous again this year, collecting $989. 

2022
Jesuit High School's annual Mission Drive 2022 was an amazing success, generating $13,500 after the completion of Mission Drive Day on April 22. The campus was teeming with fundraising activities all morning, as Jesuit students and faculty raised money on the final day of the month-long drive. The homeroom of teachers Henry Ibanez '86 and Andy Wood '92 was the school's most generous this year, collecting $1,100. The $13,500 total raised roughly equaled the Mission Drive record set in 2016 and was earmarked for the youth programs at St. Philip Benizi in Belle Glade in the Everglades.

2021
The annual Mission Drive 2021 was a tremendous success, generating nearly $11,000 for the migrant ELS program at the Jesuit mission in Belize. Among the winners of the various Mission Drive Day games and events were Caleb Williams '21 and Wade Woodaz '21, who earned the prestigious Beil-Menendez Award by winning the bocce tournament. The day concluded in the Tiger Palace with a school-wide music concert featuring the full array of Jesuit musicians under the direction of Nina Wegmann performing before an enthusiastic student body. It was punctuated by Jesuit's electrifying drumline, led by drum major Edward Morrison '21, and the amazing upside-down drumming of Miggy Sumagang '21.

2020
Mission Drive 2020 was a huge success in the spring of '20 despite the major disruption of COVID-19. The last few weeks of the school year were conducted via remote learning, which cancelled Mission Drive Day. However, through generous donations from students and the Jesuit community, the school's first online Mission Drive - conducted in just over a week's time in late April - raised $10,585 for Feeding Tampa Bay. 

2019
Jesuit's Director of Community Service, Andy Wood '92, established the annual fundraiser's beneficiary as Indian Creek Roman Catholic School in Belize, where Mr. Justin Kelley, n.S.J., a 2014 Jesuit graduate, and Fr. Penn Dawson, S.J., a member of Jesuit's Board of Trustees, served. The school, which is known locally as St. John's, has been plagued by health issues due to mold, as well as structural damage to the roof, and was in dire need of money to fix these problems. Mission Drive 2019 raised vastly exceeded its goal, raising $12,000 for the school! 

2018
Mission Drive 2018 was spearheaded by students Sebastian Torres '19 and Andrew Hanna '19, as they worked through the charitable organization Fe y Alegria to benefit displaced children in Colombia. Decades of civil strife in Colombia has created millions of displaced children without access to education and basic needs. The 2018 fundraiser collected $10,261 for the Colombian children.

2017
The beneficiaries of Mission Drive 2017 were the children of Belle Glade and their local parish, St. Philip Benizi. Belle Glade, an impoverished migrant community on the southern edge of Lake Okeechobee, for years has been visited several times annually by the Jesuit service club Agmen Christi. When all monies had been collected, Jesuit students had raised $10,423. 

2016
In 2016, Jesuit students set a new Mission Drive record, raising $13,559. The beneficiary of Mission Drive 2016 was the city of Matagalpa, Nicaragua. For four consecutive years before Mission Drive 2016, a group of Jesuit students and chaperones had traveled to Nicaragua for a week in the summer to serve the destitute in Matagalpa. The Mission Drive 2016 funds targeted three needs: a chapel for Matagalpa’s prison, operation of the local youth center (La Casita), and to send six Matagalpan youths to World Youth Day. The funds were disbursed via the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, who have hosted Jesuit's annual mission trip to Matagalpa. 

2015
Mission Drive 2015 benefited The Lord's Ranch near El Paso, Texas, which has served the poor and destitute of that region for decades. Jesuit students generated $10,987, which went toward several special projects at The Lord's Ranch.