Contact our GOF Flag Coordinator.

Have you re-landscaped your yard or moved to a new address within the Bowie High School District? Let us know! We will gladly move your sleeve to a new location in your yard or to your new home. Please email us at flags@bowieband.org with your information.

We are selling one-year subscriptions to the Bowie Band Boosters’ Gran​​d​​​​ O​​l​d​ Flag program. Each subscription includes a full-size flag planted in the subscriber’s yard for six (6) federal holidays:  Dr. Martin Luther King​, ​Jr​.’s ​Birthday, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Veterans Day. Flag subscriptions run from January 1 through December 31 of each calendar year.

A one-year subscription costs are as follows

• 1 Flag – $60
• 2 Flags – $110 ($55 each)
• 3 Flags – $150 ($50 each)
• Purchase a flag for $100 each

The Bowie Band Boosters will send a renewal notice to each subscriber the following year.

The entire Bowie Band benefits from the Grand O​​l​d Flag program. All proceeds go directly to the Band Booster organization.  They use the money to help defray the costs of running a highly competitive, nationally recognized high school band program. Of course, another great benefit is that each subscriber has the opportunity to proudly display a full size U.S. flag in their yard six times a year!​

Donations

Donations on a student’s behalf are always appreciated. If you would like to make a donation, please indicate your desire on the Renewal Form included above. If you would rather make a donation online, please use the PayPal button below. Please make sure to include the student’s name to whom the donation is to be credited.

Volunteer FAQs

• What does it mean to sign up to do a route?
  • You agree to place or pick up flags on a specified route for a designated holiday.
  • If you sign up to PLANT flags, you will get the flags from the container on the Bowie campus, follow the map in the route’s corresponding binder, and visit each house on the route, placing a flag in the designated spot in the subscriber’s yard.  There are coordinates and a photo of each home in the binder to help you find the sleeve that is permanently placed in the ground to hold the flag.  You will complete your route by 8:00am on the morning of the holiday.
  • If you are signed up to HARVEST flags, you will follow the map in the route’s corresponding binder, retrieve all the flags on the route, and return the flags and binder to the flag container on the Bowie campus.  This task needs to be done before sunset; the time varies throughout the year based on the season of the holiday.

• How much time will it take me to plant and/or harvest flags?
  • On average we recommend setting aside 1-2 hours per route.

• Can I keep the flag at home?
  • Only Permanent Route Holders are able to keep flags at home.

• What is a Permanent Route Holder?
  • Permanent Route Holders agree to cover a route for an entire academic year.  This can be to plant flags, harvest flags, or both.

• As a volunteer, can I pick up the flags and the book a day earlier and do the planting early from home?
  • Flags and binders will be available to pick up at the container at noon the day before the holiday.

• How will I know what to do if I sign up to plant/harvest a route?
  • You will receive an emailed Guide after you sign up that will give you detailed instructions on how to plant and/or harvest flags.

• I am a permanent route holder but will be out of town. Who do I communicate this with?
  • Please try to find a sub for your route. If you are unable to do so, email the GOF CO-chairs at flags@bowieband.org

• How do I make sure to earn letter point credit for volunteering to help with a route?
  • Please refer to the current student handbook for letter point details.