At 80, Walter Erickson is a little older than most substitute teachers, but this retired teacher has a reason to keep working hard and when his students at Champlin Park High School in Minneapolis found out why, they jumped in to help. Erickson is saving up to pay for his wife’s cataract surgery and dental work. And the students he’s been teaching created a GoFundMe page to help.
The donations poured in, mostly small ones from students, but they added up fast. The teens had an original goal of raising $500, but they ended up getting $13,995 for Erickson. And he and his wife are “just overwhelmed” by the kindness and generosity of the students and the community.
“He’s just impacted so many of our lives in amazing ways,” says senior Katie Blodgett. “He’s the kind of substitute teacher where he connects with us more on a personal level and he obviously loves what he does and that makes it more encouraging for us to learn.”
Source: CBS Minnesota