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What started as a small holiday fundraiser at a Kansas City middle school has snowballed into an outpouring of generosity, wiping out thousands of dollars in school lunch debt.
It started in the hallways of Center Middle School with a teacher starting a "giving tree" to help families in need. That idea set off a chain of donations that would ripple far beyond the classroom.
The giving tree encouraged students and parents to take part in paying down overdue lunch accounts. Among those who saw the appeal was a Center parent, Jeremy Danner, who launched a GoFundMe to help.
The fundraiser has brought in $6,600 as of Wednesday morning. Word spread, and soon it caught the attention of an anonymous donor. Their gift was $14,000 - enough to cover all remaining lunch debt at the school.
Danner says not having enough for lunch isn't something any kid should face.
"Trying to explain to our son that there are our parents who, no matter what they do, aren't able to make ends meet, unfortunately or that he has ... classmates who are concerned about this was tough to explain," Danner said.
"We're just trying to make sure that there's one less thing that kids have to worry about right now."
The Center School District says the combined donations erase just shy of $25,000 in overdue balances. They say that's a huge help in a district where 80% of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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