Brighten Your Day

5th grade students raise money for their teacher's daughter in need

March 28, 2012

Megan Ramirez is a fifth-grade teacher at Roosevelt Elementary School in Moline, Illinois. Her six-year-old daughter, Madison, has a genetic disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a disease that deteriorates the muscles in your body.  A therapy dog would help Madison with everyday activities.

Madison needs a therapy dog, but they cost $5,000 to $15,000 and Megan can not afford one on her teacher salary.  Luckily, she has some students who really, really like her. Four girls in her class decided to start a dog-walking business to raise enough money to buy Madison a therapy dog.

The four students posted fliers and went door-to-door, charging two dollars for a 15-minute dog walk.  They pulled in over $400.

One generous neighbor, Nancy McDonald, heard about what they were doing and offered them an amazing deal.  She had four dogs, and had each of the girls walk one.  She donated a check for $2,000 to support the cause.

This really is an amazing story. You hear so much negative about kids today, but these four girls went out of their way to raise money for a teacher they loved. See the video below.