Pueblo County High School helps send 5-year-old to Disney World
PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- For the third year in a row, Pueblo County High School will be granting a wish for a child in need. This year, the special child is Jayzon, a five-year old from Pueblo who was diagnosed with cancer.
Jayzon was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma a tumor behind his right eye. Hearing Jayzon’s story, students at Pueblo County High School jumped at the opportunity to help.
Now, he's got a plan in place for a trip to Disney World to visit the new Star Wars area and become a Jedi knight.
Sloan Garcia, a senior at Pueblo County and the event's organizer, said, “We always strive to help somebody local because it’s more personal and it gets the community involved there is just so little they get robbed of their childhood from their disease.”
In 2019, Pueblo County raised nearly $14,000 during 'Wish Week,' but this year, they raised more than $15,000.
Garcia says they do a number of things to try and get donations, “We go to local businesses, we ask for a donation they typically donate, and then they have an online donation thing that we have to share and then we do penny stalls and we do the miracle minute here at our assembly."
Each year, Wish Week is planned and managed entirely by the students. The school features a wish kid and center their fundraising activities around that child and their wish. At the end of Wish Week is an assembly where the student body participates in fun games and showcasing their school spirit.
Unfortunately due to the coronavirus, Jayzon and his family could not make Thursday's assembly. However, Jayzon did record a special video message.
“Hi, Pueblo County, this is Jayzon. Thank you for making wishes like mine come true. I can’t wait to be a Jedi!”
What started as a small class project three years ago, has now blossomed into an entire school event. And after granting Jayzon his wish, these students now look to who they can help next.
Editor's note: This story aired before Disney made the decision to close Disney World due to coronavirus concerns.
