Middle school students raise more than $800 for Salvation Army

When Louise B. Johnson Middle School Band Director J.R. Boatwright showed his students a video highlighting poverty in Manatee County, his class was silent. The students at the international baccalaureate school weren’t aware of the need in their own community, Boatwright said.

“It kind of made me tear up because there may be some here who are relying on charity this Christmas season,” Boatwright said.

So Boatwright mobilized the students. He tasked the school’s 115 band members with raising $500 for the Salvation Army in time for Christmas.

They exceeded his goal. On Monday, Boatwright and a handful of students presented a check for $833.37 to Salvation Army Regional Coordinator Dwayne Durham.

Ezequiel Salgado, 12, helped present the check to Durham. The seventh-grader raised the most money out of all his classmates, turning in close to $100 he earned through raking leaves, mowing the lawn, doing laundry and washing dishes.

“I feel bad for the people who don’t get Christmas presents,” said Salgado. “Some people don’t get nothing at all.”

Boatwright said getting students to think like Salgado is the goal of his annual fundraisers. He has made charitable events a key part of each year’s activities for the bands he directs. Last year as the band director at Haile Middle School, Boatwright spearheaded a Toys for Tots toy drive that brought in more than 300 toys.

“I try to have the kids think about others, so when they leave my program they are not only good musicians, they care about other people as well,” he said.

Cemya Brooks, 13, donated the money she earned selling concessions at football games.

“It feels good because of seeing people smile,” Brooks said. “To see them have a Christmas just fills my heart.”

Another student, Alexia Fuentes, 11, raised money by babysitting. She said the video affected her and motivated her to give.

“It was kind of sad seeing people not have shelter and food,” Fuentes said. “Knowing the Salvation Army is helping them makes me happy.”

Durham said grassroots fundraisers like the Johnson Middle School Band’s campaign are fundamental to the financial health of the Salvation Army.

“It is a vital part of what we are able to do. We keep looking at our budget saying ‘Where are we going to get the money?’, Durham said. “We take applications for people who need assistance, and we don’t know for sure if we’re going to have what we need. But it’s thanks to fundraisers like this that help us purchase toys for the kids.”

This story was originally published December 12, 2016 at 1:32 PM with the headline "Middle school students raise more than $800 for Salvation Army."