A Tale of a Flood, Mice, & Band Uniforms

I have a story of a flood, mice, and marching band uniforms. In the summer of 2008, Cedar Rapids, Iowa suffered a huge flood. You might remember seeing it on TV. Many businesses were completely flooded. My local high school, Linn Mar, had their marching band uniforms at the dry cleaners. About half of the band uniforms were damaged in the flood. The uniforms were cleaned and cleaned and cleaned many times. Unforunately all the cleaning left the uniforms discolored and old looking. The dry cleaners had insurance but the insurance did not cover replacement cost of the uniforms.

So there was a flood and then came the mice!! The summer of 2009, the band uniforms were at the dry cleaners again. This time the dry cleaners had a mice problem and the mice ate holes in about 50 of the uniforms.

The high school has decided to replace all the uniforms. If only the damaged unifroms were replaced, the colors would not completely match since the original uniforms are 7 years old. The cost of new uniforms is $75,000. The insurance settlement is $17,000.

The deadline for ordering new uniforms is March 15th. The school has been raising money but is coming up short. If you would like to make a donation, you can can click here to access the official website with the donation form. Any amount, even a $1, would be greatly appreciated! All donations are tax deductible. Please pass this post on to other people. I am hoping the generosity of people can push the high school to the amount needed.