By Like most nights when Vanessa Kramer tucked in her son, Daken, he became talkative, hoping to delay bedtime. But tonight, he had something important on his mind.
“I’m really going to miss my school,” said the 10-year-old, who would be graduating from Thomas Ultican Elementary in a few months and, in the fall, going on to the Blue Springs, Missouri, middle school.
“I want to do something nice for my school, so they’ll remember me,” Daken said, and Vanessa thought it was a great idea. “Let’s give it some thought, but right now it’s time to go to sleep,” she said.
Vanessa remembered her old school days, and the embarrassment when she couldn’t afford to buy lunch. They had a free lunch program, but her family didn’t qualify, even though her dad’s income was unreliable.
She knew the situation was still the same at Daken’s school. They never turned a child away, but they kept a running tab for those who didn’t pay.
“It’s not a problem for them now,” she told Daken. “But if they still owe money when they get to high school, they don’t get to go to senior prom or walk at their graduation.”
“That’s not right!” he insisted. “We should ask all our friends and relatives to donate and pay off all the kids’ lunch debt, so they don’t have to miss things.”
Vanessa figured they could easily raise a few hundred dollars, but when she called the principal and learned the outstanding debt topped $3,000, she became worried.
“We can raise it—I know we can,” Daken insisted, so he and his mom wrote a script for a Facebook video. Vanessa typed it up, then Daken rehearsed by reading the script several times.
They filmed Daken’s appeal in his bedroom. “Please donate,” he pleaded in a 2-minute- long video explaining the cause, then they posted it to Vanessa’s Facebook page.
A few hundred dollars in contributions trickled in as the video was forwarded and shared. Then a local TV station picked up the story, and even more contributions poured in.
In a month, the total topped $7,000. “That’s twice as much as kids owe!” Daken marveled.
At graduation, Daken got to come to the front and give Principal Longwell a check with all the funds. “Use the extra money for next year’s free breakfasts and lunches,” he said. That’s when the principal pulled out a small package.
“We actually also have a surprise for Daken for his generosity,” she announced, and produced an engraved plaque. “You are the very first recipient of the Daken Kramer Legacy Award,” she proclaimed to wild applause. “This will hang in a place of honor at school, and every year we’ll choose an outstanding student to receive this award.”
“I’m so proud of you,” Vanessa told her son on their way home, and she still is today.
Daken loves his new middle school. He’s made lots of new friends and joined a club.
He also insists lunch is even tastier there. “Especially their pepperoni pizza with jalapeños,” he says. “It’s important for kids not to be hungry. We couldn’t make it through the day without a good meal!”
