Fundraiser for victim of ‘bullying’ postponed

LYNN – A fundraiser to support 11-year-old Mathew Mumbauer, the Brickett Elementary School student left paralyzed allegedly at the hands of a bully in March, has been postponed this week and all donations have been deferred directly to a bank account opened to help the family.Donna Collins, an In Care Ministerial Student at First Congressional Church in Saugus where the fundraiser was to be held, said that Mumbauer’s family has requested that the event be postponed because Mathew’s condition has not improved and he remains hospitalized at Massachusetts General Hospital.”The fundraiser has been closed down by the family because his condition is still the same so they wouldn’t be able to participate in any way,” Collins said during a phone interview Wednesday. “They are spending all their time at the hospital.”Collins said that Mumbauer’s family was not responsible for initially planning the event, or even setting up the Mathew Mumbauer Fund, rather it was members of the church who came up with the idea after hearing of the injuries that he suffered in early March.”This fundraiser was not set up by the Mumbauer family nor did they ever ask for financial help,” said Collins in an email. “Because Mathew is a member of our church the idea of a fundraiser and dance came from the youth group and their leader Audrey Spencer as a show of Christian compassion and faith.”Spencer has been promoting the fundraiser for several weeks through flyers posted on local schools and businesses advertising a night of dancing and raffles to raise money for the injured student.”The family absolutely didn’t have anything to do with this,” Collins said in the phone interview. “This was a youth group who heard a story and made flyers – innocent people who wanted to help a child. Nobody is trying to capitalize on his condition. We responded as a church out of compassion. Everybody just wanted to help.”The Item first reported the story of Mumbauer’s alleged attack and subsequent injuries after the flyers were posted in late March, but an investigation into the incident by the School Department and Lynn Police detectives has raised questions into the events leading to Mumbauer’s serious injuries.Mumbauer has been hospitalized at MGH since March 11 with spinal swelling that he allegedly suffered after being pushed down the stairs at the Brickett Elementary School by a bully. He is paralyzed from the chest down and was recently equipped with a tracheotomy tube to further assist his breathing when one of his lungs collapsed. Collins, who said she is Mumbauer’s second cousin and currently acts as his visitation minister while he is ill, said he has use of his arms from his elbows up.At the School Department’s request, Lynn police began investigating the incident March 28, two weeks after the alleged attack, but as of Tuesday, police officials say they are still unable to find any evidence that the attack happened inside of the Brickett School.With many questions still unanswered, police are waiting for Mumbauer to recover to the point where he can speak to detectives and give his version of the story before concluding the investigation.The boy’s family, who did not respond to The Item’s interview requests, has indicated that Mumbauer was bullied often at school, and say they believe those same bullies are responsible for the injuries he suffered that day.Mumbauer remains at MGH in fair condition this week. The family has not taken action against the School Department as of Wednesday.In lieu of Saturday’s fundraiser, Collins said people wishing to donate to the Mumbauer Fund can send money directly to Saugus Bank, 489 Lincoln Ave. in Saugus.Although Collins said proceeds from the fundraiser were to be used for the family’s transportation to and from the hospital and for food while they were there, she said donations to the fund will only go to Mumbauer.”It will only be used by Mathew alone and for his needs, period,” she said. “The family’s names are not on the