Students in Crestwood’s fifth grade class raised the most money in the school’s penny drive to adopt an owl from the Raptor Conservancy of Virginia. (From left) Jennifer Avila, Julia Bogstad, Franciso Martinez, Nataly Juarez, Bebe Dunlap, Marjan Nawaz, Kent Knowles and Sir Hoots-a-lot, Paola Gonzalez, Jolie Flores, Ashley Rodriguez, Tina Nguyen and (front) Angel Torres. Photo by Tim Peterson.
After a week-long “penny drive” fundraiser, Crestwood Elementary School fifth grader Paola Gonzalez finally got to meet her real-live school mascot. The students raised $760 between Nov. 10 and Nov. 14 to sponsor a 1 and a half-year-old barred owl through the Raptor Conservancy of Virginia.
Fifth graders accounted for $200, more than any other single class, and won the honor of naming the bird. They came up with “Sir Hoots-a-lot.” Previous penny drives have benefited victims of Hurricane Sandy and the Fairfax Animal Shelter.
“It’s really exciting, knowing we have a real, natural mascot,” said Gonzales. “I feel so thankful, giving the money, because they need it.”
The Raptor Conservancy is a nonprofit with round-the-clock surgical capability that takes in injured and orphaned local birds of prey. With 20 non-releasable birds and up to 70 birds in rehabilitation at any one time, the organization spends about $1,000 per week on food.
“We receive state and federal controls and rules,” said Kent Knowles with the Raptor Conservancy, “but zero funding, all donations.” Raising a heavy-gloved hand with the owl perched, Knowles said, “None of these guys pay their own bills.”
Knowles believes Sir Hoots-a-lot was hit by a car, suffered bilateral detached retinas and can’t be released into the wild. Otherwise, the bird is healthy and should live another 12 to 15 years.
Fifth grader Ashley Rodriguez came up with the name for the owl. “You know you’re doing something good to help an animal in need,” she said.
Car strikes are common for birds of prey, according to Knowles, because they go after mice and other small rodents lured to roadways for food discarded by humans. He encouraged anyone who hits a bird or sees an injured bird to call the Conservancy, animal control or the state game warden.