COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho - A little girl in Coeur d’Alene raised enough money to pay off all the student lunch debt in Coeur d’Alene School District.
Second-grader Amiah Van Hill started her lemonade stand this summer, and by October had raised $23,000 through that and a GoFundMe to pay off lunch debts.
She first paid off the debt at her elementary school, Layden Meadows, before expanding her fundraising efforts to the entire district.
Her mom, Rachel, said they had such a great response to Amiah's "Lemonade 4 Lunch" stand originally that they started a GoFundMe account for the cause, with the help of school district officials.
Coeur d’Alene School District officials said they do not do an “alternative lunch” if students reach the end of the line and don’t have enough to pay for their meal. They are allowed to essentially overdraft, and their parents are notified.
Amiah and her mom said they were inspired to help end student lunch debt after seeing what Jeff Lew, a Seattle-based dad, had done in Washington.
Lew’s campaign helped erase Seattle, Tacoma, and Spokane lunch debt and he is working on raising funds for Renton and Clover Park school districts as well.
Amiah and her mom will be presenting their final GoFundMe check to Coeur d’Alene Nutrition Services on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. at the board meeting.
