In December, cadets from Sarasota Military Academy (SMA) received an opportunity from a donor, Phyllis Siskel, to earn $50,000 for the school. Siskel, a long-time supporter of SMA, announced plans to match all contributions to the Academy up to $25,000. However, when $41,000 was collected, Siskel decided to match the additional funds for a total of $82,000 raised. SMA staff and cadets raised awareness through social media and email campaigns. Siskel has a long history of donating time, energy and money to the school. Her donations have assisted in providing classroom materials, opportunities for extracurricular activities, cafeteria equipment, and more, and she is known to staff and cadets for serving lunch in the cafeteria and assisting around the school.