Lexi makes the news

Several months ago Lexi came home from school telling me about a fundraiser she wanted to do for a 1st grader at her school.  She told me how this little boy had a bad heart and was not able to ride a bike because he had no control on his left side.  The bike was very expensive, so she wanted to have her school do a fundraiser to get the money to purchase it.  Lexi told me how during her student body officer meeting she brought it up to the principal and he approved it.  I told her it sounded like a great idea but sometimes i get so busy in the day to day at my house I don't pay didn't as much attention as I should.  It was weeks later Lexi and Jocelyn was were making posters to hang around the school to advertise the fundraiser.  I asked a few more questions about the fundraiser.  Lexi told me that they were having each class collect money and the class that  collected the most money would be given a hot chocolate party.  I was proud of Lexi for embarking on this endeavour but it wouldn't be until just a week ago, I would realized how much these girls had done.  Lexi came home with a permission slip for Fox 13 and Channel 2 news to interview her.  She told me that they wanted to talk to her about the fundraiser.  She old me that with the help of the kids at Midas Creek they raised over 2,000 dollars for Parker to get his bike.  The news wanted to talk to her about her efforts in organizing the fundraiser.  I stood their in amazement looking at my daughter.  This young lady amazes me constantly with her generosity and kind heart.  All I could think was WOW!  There are no words that come to mind to describe my sense of pride.  Not only am I proud of my daughter for this accomplishment.  I am proud that she chooses good friends who jumped right in and wanted to do this as much as she did.  I am also thrilled that Parker will now get the opportunity to experience the joy of riding a bike outside with his peers.  This is the article KUTV news published about the fundraiser.

Riverton Students Rally To Raise Money For Classmate's Custom Bike(KUTV) A brave young man was given a special gift from his classmates in the Jordan school district and Friday, that young man was able to say thank you.The gift was a custom-made and costly three wheel bike that gives young Parker Allen new found freedom. Kids at Midas Creek Elementary in Riverton raised thousands of dollars in just two weeks' time to give Parker this bike on Christmas.Friday, school leaders held a special assembly for those students where Parker rode in on the new bike and he and his family said thanks. "This was exciting. What a neat experience," Parker's Mom Sheila Allen told 2News."It's awesome that he can keep up with everyone else now - huh,  bud!" Parker's Dad Jordan said he loved seeing all of Parker's fellow first graders cheer him on during the assembly."All of his friends and neighbors and even his siblings all ride around and he wasn't able to ride a normal bike," Tristan Patterson said that was why she got involved with the fundraising effort that became a competition among the different classes."The teachers would challenge the kids to beat the other class in how much they raised," Jocelyn Eyre told 2News, adding, "We had two weeks to do it."But they did it, raising enough money to get Parker this bike that he can steer, brake and control solely through a mechanism for his left hand."We didn't do it for us," student council member Morgan Cook said, "We did it for Parker.""We wanted to do all we could to raise the money to get him this bike," 6th grader Alexia Kentworthy said adding, "Because he deserves it!"Parker was met with applause as he rode the three wheeled bike around the school gymnasium again and again. His mother says he's already racing against his older sister at home and showed home videos that Parker says show him riding "Super Fast!"Today was a good day, but little Parker has gone through a lot. He was born with what his mother called 'half a heart'. In just his first six months he underwent two open heart surgeries and then at just one year, his heart failed and Parker suffered a stroke which left the right side of his body paralyzed."That was like the scariest day of our lives," Sheila said with her husband Jordan at her side and their older and younger daughters playing around them, but then hope when Parker got a new heart. "This family gave the gift of live giving our little boy a second chance at life... and oh, I'm going to cry. We are just so grateful because he is so amazing - he is our little spirit. Our whole family is so grateful."The Allen family expressed their gratitude again Friday for the support of the entire community. They say while Parker still faces a number of physical challenges, on this new bike he seems unstoppable.By Amy Nay(Copyright 2014 Sinclair Broadcasting Group)