Fundraiser to Benefit Richard Pierce After Car Damage Super Bowl Sunday
Richard Pierce has had quite a week. By now you’ve likely seen the video of the group of young people gathered in a large group on Sunday near Temple University’s main campus ahead of the Super Bowl – flipping a car. It was all over social media. The police saw it too. According to 6ABC, they’re still looking for some of the people seen in that video . That flipped car wasn’t the only car damaged though. Another car had it’s windshield smashed in and mirrors and door handles broken. That car is owned by a 70 year old man named Richard Pierce, who has lived in the neighborhood for years.
Here’s where the story becomes brighter.
Since that unfortunate incident happened, a whole lot of positive has happened too. Students, neighbors and the city in general are reaching out to Mr. Pierce to show him that this destructive behavior is not at all what Temple students are all about. In fact, a few students that live on his street have started a GoFundMe campaign for the man they refer to as Rick, and it’s really taken off. According to the GoFundMe page, “Rick has lived on Arlington street since 1995. He graduated from Temple in 1974 and earned his graduate degree in 1988. There is no excuse for these actions committed especially for unsuspecting individuals that live in the community. Please help Rick and show support for our North Philadelphia residents!”
So far the fundraiser has reached over $14,000. An update from one of the fundraising campaign organizers Matthew Asobayire says, “Thank you all for the overwhelming support! This is a very turbulent time for the Temple community and the events over the past few days have not only been reassuring but inspiring. We will be closing donations and giving Richard the funds at the end of the week. Please if you have any questions feel free to send a message to us! Again, thank you all for your generous donations.”
As a Temple alumni myself, this is great to hear. Temple is very much smack in the middle of a residential area. Parties and crowds of young people and all of the noise and garbage that comes with it, can be a strain on the surrounding community. It’s a delicate balance. So while I was disappointed to see the videos from this past Sunday’s rowdy crowds, the fundraising campaign and general outcry from the bulk of the Temple and Philadelphia community in general is really nice to see.
A negative turned into a positive. Let’s hope it also helps to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the future.
