Fiesta Bowl replaces stolen sports equipment from Valley school
PHOENIX (FOX 10) - "Losing, that really hurt us because we were just a month from the starting baseball and soccer season, so just trying to get everything back to get them going was very stressful," said Adrian Espana of the Western School of Science and Technology.
The broken spirits of students and staff at Western School of Science and Technology are now lifted with a pleasant surprise -- a $5,000 check to help replace the stolen items.
"This is a phenomenal school here and what we do at the Fiesta Bowl is we're fortunate enough to have our games and have some extra funds and S.T.E.M. and sports education is what we love to give back to," said Mike Nealy, executive director of the Fiesta Bowl.
Both the school's staff and students were devastated by the burglary. The suspect was not caught but did leave behind a note, apologizing for the crime and saying they stole the items so their little sister would not go hungry.
Today, students and staff found new hope in such a generous gift.
"I'm just super happy! Super excited! They saved our season, not just for this year, but for all the years coming up," Espana said. "It's amazing the way they reached out to us to provide us this help and it just gives our students an opportunity to showcase their talents and that's all we want is for them to have the opportunity to showcase themselves in the classroom but also out on the field."
Looking forward to the rest of the year, the school says they're beyond grateful they can begin to replace all that was taken from them.