A movement to help wipe out kids' school lunch debt is circulating on Facebook and it's already turned into thousands of dollars for Forsyth County families.
A 6-year-old child saw the need and stepped up inspiring others to make a difference. Holden is a little boy from Texas who had a friend in need.
"Holden was asking for extra lunch in his lunch box to take to school," Andrea Elzey said, recounting the story she had watched.
He must have been extra hungry, his mom thought.
"Until Holden's friend ran up to her at school one day and said thank you for feeding me," Andrea said. "My mommy is having a hard time."
Andrea watched the story from a thousand miles away in Georgia as Holden's mom started paying off kids' school lunch accounts one at a time.
"And I thought, well, we're in Forsyth County, we have a big county and a big community outlet - I could feed it, too," she said. "And I thought, why not schools."
Andrea posted her idea on a Forsyth County Facebook page and soon the calls began. Her idea raised $3,000 in a matter of days to put toward lunch debt.
"These are students who might not qualify for free or reduced lunch but they might have circumstances - challenges - that come up that might cause this," a school representative said.
The district lets students charge a set number of meals when they don't have enough money in their account. Sometimes, families hit that limit.
"All of our students will always be fed," the Forsyth County school representative said. "We often had teachers or cafeteria workers step up and buy something for a student."
Andrea is a working mom who can sympathize.
"I've had to reach out and beg," she said. "Don't hold it against my child because I'm not able to provide, at the moment, what's needed. So I think that's what we need to bring to light."
So, with the help of social media, she hopes to spread awareness across Forsyth County - and beyond.
"Everyone's not looking for a handout," Andrea said. "They're just looking for a little help up."
Andrea hopes to not only help Forsyth County students but also extend support across district lines to other communities.
