SAN MARCOS, Calif. (KGTV) — A string of heartbreaking events for a High Tech Elementary School student motivated an educator to raise money, hoping to bring joy to the less fortunate kids this holiday season.
"If you aren't anticipating gifts, if you've already kind of discounted that that's not going to happen for you, it's heavy, and it's not a happy or joyful season, said Heather Wong, a school psychologist at the school, which is located in San Marcos.
Wong's goal for the fundraiser is to collect enough money to buy gifts for the students who otherwise wouldn't get any this time of year.
"I started out really trying to protect this one family in particular with this lofty idea that if I can get far enough, I have a list of other families and kids to support," said Wong.
In the GoFundMe she created, Wong describes one student's unthinkable year. In Jan. 2022, the family's grandmother died, and she had been the main caregiver for her adult daughter who has Down syndrome. Now, the student's mother has taken over as the one responsible for her sister.
That's not the only person this mother cares for; the student's father became a quadriplegic after a car crash, so she cares for him, her two children and her sister. This family relies on mom's income to pay the bills, and things became even more complicated when their apartment complex in Escondido was recently sold.
The family must find a new place to live and move by March 2023.
Wong's GoFundMe post also says the family has a van that can transport the father, but it needs maintenance. Without the van, dad can't make it to school events and other important family outings.
"This family has been through so much, and with all of these circumstances, Christmas gifts were not an option," the fundraiser website says. "Together we have been able to fundraise money for Christmas gifts, but they still need so much more support to get them on a better path."
Wong says her goal is to continue helping this family, with the priority being fixing the van. Once that's done, she says she'll move on to another focus family.
"It all depends on how much we can raise!" Wong wrote.
You can learn more about Wong's efforts to help families in need this holiday season on the GoFundMe website. As of 4:30 p.m. Friday, the fundraiser collected more than $2,350.
