Elementary school raises more than $13k for family of boy needing heart transplant

By: Rachel Richardson

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — Officer Zac Lawson is a school resource officer at Rosenwald-Dunbar Elementary School. His 5-year-old son Kash has been living with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and now, he needs a heart transplant. The school’s students surprised Officer Lawson and his family with the more than $13,000 they raised.

Officer Lawson says, “To see that they put so much time and effort for me, it just makes you feel good I’m not gonna lie. It makes you feel really good and to do it for my son, who most if not almost all have not — never met him. They’ve only met me, so for them to do something like that it’s amazing, it’s crazy.”

Jessamine County’s school district is piloting a new program in two fifth-grade classes called “Graduate Profile” that they hope will teach students connected citizenship, responsibility, critical thinking, communication, and a strong work ethic. Those classes decided to get the entire school involved to help Kash.

Fifth-grade teacher Mackenzie Frankenburger says, “Our fifth graders buddied up with all of our younger classes and then they taught them about ‘Graduate Profile’, they introduced the idea of the fundraiser, they told them a little bit about Kash and they’ve been checking in on them over the last several weeks.”

The original goal was to get each student to donate $1, but after hosting bake sales, lemonade stands, fundraising, and more, they raised the $13,000. They presented the family with everything on their Amazon wish list, $1,000 in gift cards, and a $10,000 check. Kash and his mom joined in online as the kids sang him a song, to remind him to keep going.

Frankenburger says, “For me as an educator, the most important thing that I’ve taken away from this is that you really can’t put a limit on what kids are capable of doing and I know sometimes as adults, we worry about the world and what it’s gonna look like in the future, but like I can really assure people that our future’s in really good hands.”

Officer Lawson and his family have been separated for some time. His wife is in Cincinnati where Kash is getting treatment, while he and his other two sons are here. Although they visit every weekend, he says being apart has taken its toll. Tonight when they drive up, he says he knows his son will be excited to recap the day.

“While they were singing, like I was trying to look up and see him smiling and stuff so I really loved that and just to see him see all those kids dancing and stuff for him, I think he really liked it so I’d say tonight when I get there, he’ll be talking a bunch about that. I can’t wait for that,” Lawson says.

This community continues to come together to support the Lawson family.