Freshmen Sophie Cabrera (left) and Preston Savoy (right) exit through the doors that had been vandalized on December 13th. The doors and windows at Bowie, now repaired, were fixed using donations from the Bowie PTSA’s fundraiser.
Campus bounces back after vandalism
Community fund raises money to repair damages done to windows
On the morning of Dec. 13, students and staff were welcomed to school with an estimated 75 to 100 broken windows in the fine arts and athletic halls. In the aftermath of this vandalism, the Parent-Student-Teacher Association (PTSA) stepped up and held a fund raiser for school repairs and improvements.
“I got a call that morning about 6:15 from a high school officer asking me if I was aware of what happened at Bowie,” principal Mark Robinson said. “He informed that several windows had been broken out. PTSA was immediately involved. They are able to get the pulse of the community and communicate with me about the problems and concerns. I was already in touch with the PTSA president, and reached out if there was anything that she could do.”
The PTSA decided that the best course of action was to raise money for the school.
“Instead of sending in stuff, [the PTSA] directed folks to do donations, so that way it was the best way to support students, staff and campus,” Robinson said. “The PTSA organized a #BowieStrong fundraising campaign to help with the disaster relief.”
Instead of relying on second-hand sources, the PTSA decided to run their own fundraiser.
“We knew that if we created a fundraiser in lieu of a crowd-sourced fundraiser like GoFundMe, then we could guarantee that all the money raised would go to Bowie,” PTSA President Mia Scroggs said.
With over $3,250 raised, the school benefited and still has $2,450 to dedicate to Build Up Bowie.
“We used some of the #BowieStrong funds to provide a welcome-back breakfast to Bowie faculty and staff as thanks for all the extra hours they had put in after missing two days of school in the middle of finals preparation,” Scroggs said. “The rest of the money raised will be the foundation of our Spring Build Up Bowie campaign, which will go toward security cameras, improved sensors and lighting.”