The sound of band kids running around and hanging up mulch flyers on doors filled the quiet Saturday morning neighborhoods. For the residents, this was a new experience for the Warrior Band. For the band kids, it marked the beginning of the annual mulch fundraiser and a new tradition: the mulch hunt. On Saturday, Feb. 3, the Westwood Band hosted their first mulch hunt to kick off their well-known mulch fundraiser, where band kids deliver up to hundreds of bags of mulch to the doorstep of Westwood area residents.
“[The mulch hunt] was new, something we haven’t done before, but it was a lot of fun,” Kiarie Kimani ‘26 said. “Afterward, the trumpets all got lunch and hung out, [and] it brought a new sense of community within the band.”
The mulch hunt was a scavenger hunt combined with handing out flyers to encourage residents to buy mulch and raise money for the band. The goal for the mulch hunt was to raise more awareness about the mulch fundraiser while integrating an engaging activity.
“The money raised is used to buy new instruments and props, help lower band fees, and fund transportation,” Kimani said. “The scavenger hunt was fun as well, [and] it was something we can all bond over.”
The annual band mulch fundraiser is one of two main fundraisers for the band to raise money for the next marching season — the March-a-thon fundraiser in the fall and the mulch fundraiser in the spring. Last year, the funds were used to buy brand new Baritones and fund parts of the St. Louis trip.
“Hopefully we will raise even more [money] than last year when the fundraiser ends,” Kimani said.
The mulch handout and delivery will take place on Saturday, March 2.
