Mom turns personal passion into donations

By Kile Brewer

Posted 8/15/18

FLEMING ISLAND – One Fleming Island Elementary School mom has secured donations that will help out the parents of 25 of her son’s classmates.

Through a partnership with Bob Delicino, store …

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Mom turns personal passion into donations

Photo by KILE BREWER Steven Jorzyk, 8, plays in the new Fleming Island Elementary School sensory portable that was donated to the school through a partnership with Walmart that was coordinated by Jorzyk's mother Katherine Findlay.

Photo by KILE BREWER Fleming Island Elementary School ESE mother Katherine Findlay sorts through school supplies that will be placed in a backpack and given to one of the school's 25 ESE students through a donation from Walmart that she coordinated.

Photo by KILE BREWER From left, Katherine Findlay, Fleming Island Elementary School Assistant Principal Kimberly McCullough, Tammy Cross from Walmart, FIE Principal Jennifer Collins, and FIE ESE teachers Renee Stininger and Illisa Hamilton pose with 25 backpacks donated through a partnership between Findlay and the Fleming Island Walmart store for ESE students at Fleming Island Elementary School.

Posted Wednesday, August 15, 2018 12:00 pm

By Kile Brewer

FLEMING ISLAND – One Fleming Island Elementary School mom has secured donations that will help out the parents of 25 of her son’s classmates.

Through a partnership with Bob Delicino, store manager at the Fleming Island Walmart store, mom Katherine Findlay was able to donate 25 backpacks filled with all the necessary supplies to the Exceptional Student Education wing of her son’s school.

This was the second part of a partnership between Findlay and the Walmart store, with the first part coming in the form of $2,500 for Chromebooks in the ESE wing as well as a “sensory portable.”

The classroom allows kids, like her son Steven Jorzyk, 8, who is diagnosed with autism, a safe space to play. The portable features a hammock, a soft crash pad, and a wide variety of toys that offer sights, sounds and textures to occupy the busy minds of the students.

Once those things were in place and ready for the new school year, Findlay and Walmart decided to do one more donation and she sent a list of supplies to the store directly from the FIE ESE teachers.

“This all originated from being passionate about my son and what he’s going through,” Findlay said. “And being a single mother, I know this can be a financial burden.”

The 25 packs were given to the program’s 17 boys and 8 girls on their first day of school Tuesday, saving those families $520 in total.

“This takes a load off parents, it’s just one less thing for them to worry about,” said Illisa Hamilton, who teaches children with physical disabilities in grades K-6. “There are lots of things for them to worry about, especially for ESE kids, and this helps them concentrate on the important stuff.”

Findlay said the string of donations started with a simple Facebook post she made back in March after deciding to become involved in the schools through her son. After the success of these donations at Fleming Island Elementary, she has decided to start a nonprofit organization sometime in the next few months with the goal of raising money for ESE programs at public and private schools throughout Northeast Florida.