After a fire destroyed playground at Endeavour Elementary School here in Bakersfield, the community rallied around the school to rebuild the playground last month.
The Fruitvale School District had insurance to cover fire damage, but the policy had a $5,000 deductible, which neither the school nor the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) had the funds to pay. This was despite the PTO being in continual fundraising mode to pay for a variety of school projects, including purchasing new laptops for classrooms.
Various elements in the community, therefore, came together to replace the losses. Nova Slayton, a third-grader at the school, opened a ‘Go Fund Me’ account and raised around $2,000 to put toward the deductible. In addition to Nova’s efforts, several community members and businesses reached into their own pockets and donated money, amounting to several thousand dollars.
The funds raised by Nova’s Go Fund Me account were presented via check to administrators at the school’s fall carnival, and the new equipment will be installed in time for the next school year.
Flyer printing services help schools keep their stakeholders informed, in turn strengthening community ties to the school. Many students, according to the school’s administration, were downhearted due to the vandalism and the resulting loss of playground equipment, but the support from the community had proved to be an uplifting influence.
