Olympia music nonprofit robbed of $10K in gear—community raises $11K to help
Mar 26, 2025, 7:30 AM | Updated: 7:38 am
A young musician works with a mentor/producer at The Bridge Music Project. (Photo: Andrew Repcik, The Bridge Music Project) Andrew Repcik
(Photo: Andrew Repcik, The Bridge Music Project)
The community rallied around The Bridge Music Project, an Olympia-based nonprofit for youth music, after it was hit with a devastating robbery.
Using The Bridge Music Project’s GoFundMe page and its “instrument registry,” the community raised more than $11,000 to help the organization pay for brand-new instruments that were stolen in the robbery.
“We’ve received so much love from the community and words of support and contributions to our GoFundMe program,” Bobby Williams, the founder of The Bridge Music Project, said. “We’ve been doing this work in the community for the last 10 years.”
The Bridge Music Project works with many children and teens who have experienced trauma and have dealt with situations like foster care, homelessness, and incarceration.
“These kids are going to get everything that got stolen from them, and they’re going to get all those opportunities we thought we’re going to be lost,” Shanelle Berry, a participant-turned-mentor with the program, told KING 5.
RELATED STORIES
A $10,000 robbery
Williams told police the thieves broke in through the nonprofit’s backdoor, stealing approximately $10,000 worth of musical instruments. He described The Bridge Music Project as a place to use music, mentorship, and community as tools for youth empowerment.
“These are tools that young artists rely on to express themselves, process trauma, and grow through music,” Williams wrote on social media. “What’s most upsetting is that The Bridge is meant to be a safe and supportive space. This violation goes beyond stolen equipment; it shakes the sense of security we’ve worked so hard to build for our youth.”
Included in the losses were guitars, amplifiers, pedal mixers, electric drum kit mixers, and a drum circle setup. The nonprofit filed a police report when the break-in happened on March 14.
“A lot of different pieces of equipment that we use,” Williams told MyNorthwest. “Basically, our house set of equipment for when you are performing and recording with us.”
The Bridge Music Project received grants to fund its “house set” of equipment to give the young musicians a near-professional experience. But, according to Williams, the nonprofit will not pause programming, instead pivoting to a bare-bones version of what they’ve been doing.
“As a grassroots nonprofit, this loss hits us hard,” Williams wrote. “Not only do we need to replace the stolen equipment, but we also need to strengthen our security to prevent this from happening again.”
The Olympia Police Department (OPD) is heading up an investigation into the robbery.
Follow Frank Sumrall on X. Send news tips here.
