The Towne Lake community raised $4,000 to purchase and install new benches and picnic tables at Anthony Middle School. Towne Lake community member Scott Baxter, right center, and CFISD Board of Trustees member Lucas Scanlon, left center, spearheaded the initiative to donate to the campus. They are pictured with Crystal Romanelli, Anthony Middle School principal, center, and the Anthony administration team.

Aug. 12, 2025—Towne Lake community members raised $4,000 to purchase a total of four benches and two picnic tables for Anthony Middle School.

Scott Baxter, a Towne Lake community member, and Lucas Scanlon, a member of the CFISD Board of Trustees, spearheaded the community initiative to raise money to support the campus by donating seating for the campus courtyard area.

“It’s great to see the kids in the community grow, and we enjoy helping out where we’re needed,” Baxter said. “The community loves to chip in and try to improve whatever we can to make great experiences for the students.”

Baxter, with the help of other community members, raised $4,000 within one week to fund the purchase and installation of the benches and tables before the first day of school.

Anthony Middle School students will enjoy new benches and tables donated by Towne Lake community members. The benches and tables were installed on Aug. 6 to begin the upcoming school year.  

Scanlon extended support to Crystal Romanelli, Anthony principal, and asked if there was anything that the campus needed.

“As Mrs. Romanelli was beginning her first semester at Anthony, I wanted to make sure she knew that as a community, Towne Lake wants to embrace her,” Scanlon said. “She shared that there is an area in the middle of the school where there is no place for students and teachers to sit. I told her, I could work on that. I spoke with Scott, and he reached out to the community.”

Romanelli hopes to provide students at Anthony with a space to serve as a reward for good behavior during lunches throughout the year.     

“We are so happy to open up the courtyard and provide a space where students can enjoy the nature and beauty that is our campus,” said Romanelli. “We look forward to our students being rewarded for positive choices by having lunches with friends and peers in this area, and this donation contributes to our students’ experience in making great memories here on our campus.”