MANDAN, ND (KXNET) — In this season of thanks and appreciation for one another, it’s important to show your love to those closest to you. But what you don’t expect is some kids who haven’t even hit their teens yet recognizing a need and stepping up to help.
With that being said, it’s no secret that teachers have a huge impact on their students’ lives. All the way from a young age to the rest of their lives. But it’s not often you hear the case where the student has an impact on the teacher’s life. Well, two young boys at Mandan Middle School have done exactly that.
“We have like five classes together – three,” said Paxton Urlacher.
“Yeah, and usually whenever we’re in those classes, me and him usually join each other’s Minecraft worlds and play together,” added Lucas Boehm.
Paxton Urlacher and Lucas Boehm are pretty much typical sixth graders. They became friends at the start of this school year. But it’s what they decided to do that makes them a pair of extraordinary 6th graders.
“So, we made a fundraiser for our teacher’s husband because he has cancer,” said Urlacher.
Tammy Kelly is a sixth-grade Social Studies teacher at Mandan Middle School. She has since taken a leave of absence because her husband was diagnosed with cancer, and that’s when the boys decided to step into action.
Urlacher said, “When we found out her husband had cancer, I thought I could do something kind for her.” Boehm chimed in, “Yeah, I did too.”
At Mandan Middle School, the students aren’t allowed to wear hats at school, so with that in mind, the boys came up with a few creative fundraising ideas for Mrs. Kelly and her husband.
Urlacher said, “And we made a hat day. So everyone that brought one dollar got to wear a hat.” Boehm added, “And there was also a thing called bistro buddies. Where you could get hot chocolate, lemonade, or coffee for a dollar and twenty-five cents. And we had that on the same day, too.”
Between their hat day and Bistro Buddies’ idea, they made a far larger impact than either one imagined.
“I didn’t know much we would earn because we put the poster out…a week before, and I didn’t think a lot of people would see it.” said Urlacher. Boehm contributed, “I thought we would only get to like 200 or some dollars.”
They blew that 200 or some dollars out of the water by raising more than $1,100 for the Kellys. They share why they were moved to do such a selfless act that many years older wouldn’t even have done. Urlacher said, “I like being kind and supporting our school and community.” Boehm added his part, saying, “I’ve always really known Mrs. Kelly because I go to church with her, so I see her every Sunday and then…she’s kind and that she doesn’t really give us that much homework.”
Two young boys, wise and selfless beyond their years, have built their morals around giving kindness to others.
The Kellys weren’t ready to speak on camera yet, but they shared this statement with KX News:
“When the kids learned of Tammy’s leave of absence and my diagnosis of stage 4 esophageal and stomach cancer, they asked if it would be okay to hold a fundraiser for us. When we agreed to let them move forward, we could never have imagined the outcome.
How these kids pulled together and raised that amount of money was truly inspiring. We believe God is working through these kids—not only to help us financially, but to lift our spirits and give us hope during these very difficult times.
Many of these students have also sent emails wishing us well and letting us know they are praying for us. We cannot say enough about how much they have inspired us and given us hope for this generation of kids.
Thank you so much. What you have done for us is deeply appreciated. May God bless you as you have blessed us.
Pat and Tammy Kelly”
