There was an assembly on Monday where Ms. Lopez explained the fundraiser to the entire student body. Most of the students had already heard bits and pieces about what’s been going on, but Ms. Lopez projected the blog onto a screen and walked through the entire story. She began with Vidal’s original post and ended with the final tally raised thus far. ($707,000 at the time. $875,000 now!)
“The scholars of MHBA are inspiring the entire world,” Ms. Lopez said. “People have written me letters from New Zealand, England, and South Africa, telling me that they care about you.” An especially great part of the assembly was when Ms. Lopez scrolled through the posts featuring teachers, and the students let out a giant cheer when each teacher’s name was announced:
“Even Ms. Powell told her story!” (Cheers)
“And Ms. Stangl!” (Cheers)
“And Mr. Turner!” (Cheers)
Vidal also got a huge cheer when his story was shown. But the biggest cheer of all was reserved for the end, when Ms. Lopez announced: “As a result of this fundraiser, the entire school will be going to visit Harvard. We’re all going to Harvard!”
The kids went nuts.
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So far our campaign has provided the funds for ten years of Harvard trips and ten years of summer programs for Mott Hall Bridges Academy, a middle school in the under-served neighborhood of Brownsville, Brooklyn. All funds raised over $700,000 are being used to establish a scholarship fund available to graduates of MHBA. The scholarship fund is named The Vidal Fund, after the young man who inspired the entire story. If you’d like to contribute, you can do so here: https://life.indiegogo.com/fundraisers/let-s-send-kids-to-harvard
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