A fourth grade student from Grand Haven, Michigan has started a fundraiser to give her classmates a hot meal at lunch.
Lexi Bergeron, 11, was inspired to help out less fortunate students after she saw a news report on debt in school lunchrooms. According to Fox 17, Lexi discovered her classmates would only get a cheese sandwich instead of a hot meal if there was a debt on their lunch account.
Her mother, Sara Bergeron, said her daughter was deeply affected by the story, and immediately wanted to help.
"She said, 'Well, Mommy, what if I gave my money to help?'" Sara told the Grand Haven Tribune. "I said, 'Honey, that would be a great idea, but how about if we do it for the kids at your school who don't have lunch?'"
They decided to eliminate the all the lunch debt at Ferry Elementary School, which stood at $188, by creating a fundraiser. Lexi sold homemade fidget strings for $1, and made $11 during the first week.
Shortly after, Sara decided to start a GoFundMe page, hoping to raise the rest of the money.
The campaign exceeded their expectations, and as of Dec. 12, $1,657 has already been donated. The pair then planned to raise the monetary goal to $2,200 to eradicate the lunch debt of the whole school district.
"We feel incredibly thankful to live in such a caring and giving community. I have been speaking with a wonderful lady who works in GHAPS and she said the estimated amount for our school district lunch debt is $2,200," Sara wrote on the GoFundMe page. " I know it's the holiday season and money can be tight but even the smallest (of) donations count! Again, thank you all from the very bottom of my heart for supporting her wish and helping so many of our children!"
Sara said the cause is close to her heart, as she knows what its like to go through financial hardship.
"We're a low-income family ourselves, so we do get the free lunch program, but we really hadn't known too much about the debt before now," she said. "When Lexi saw that there were other kids at school who weren't eating, that hurt her heart."
Sara also said she's incredibly proud of her daughter, and had never imagined the campaign would amount to what it is now.
"I thought this would just be something small we could do to help our community, and it's turned into something much bigger," she said. "I'm so proud of (Lexi). I don't have the words."
How do you feel about Sara and Lexi's campaign? Let us know!