Crowd Sourcing a Miracle

Sometimes teaching moves you, and fundamentally changes you on the deepest levels.  Every single teacher I know started in education out love for kids and the deep desire to contribute something positive to the world. I have been out of the classroom for nearly two years, but my experiences with Lanie, have definitely changed me.  Further, my experiences with the teachers in her school humble and move me to tears.

I started a fundraiser to buy a birthday gift for Lanie,  she just turned 21 and has no way to communicate with the world around her.  I am doing a crowd source fundraiser using YouCaring.com leaning on my twitter following and Facebook friends.  People from all over the world expressed an interest in her, CrossFitters, to a father of another girl named Lanie, to another Dad who is techie like me and has a toddler with CP that just started using a Tobii.  Friends that I barely interact with were moved by her story and contributed, and others that I have never met dropped large sums of money.

The but word got out, Lanie's High School got wind of my fundraiser and within two days the staff organized and last night they  "blew it up".  I sat back watching the comments and donations. "Let's DO THIS!", "Keep on being Awesome", "Vikings take care of their own" and my personal favorite,  "No woman should ever be silenced. Especially one with so much to say."  The fundraiser went from 1470.00  yesterday morning (and I had been complaining about a plateau) to currently 4,758.00 ( I have had to change that last number 4 times while writing because it continues to grow)  

There is so much more to education than SLOs, APPR and Common Core.  These are trends and assessment du jour.  What is truly important in education can not be measured or quantified, it is the soul of a school, the hearts of its staff.  A community dedicated to serve its students, and South High School, you have that in spades.  You are beyond distinguished.

Thank you!  

**update** as of 8:15 this morning, we are now up to 5,436.00!