WEST HAVEN, Utah – Two sisters at Kanesville Elementary School raised more than $4,000 this week, all for a little girl they’ve never met.
Eight-year-old Sabrina and 11-year-old Sophia Johnson heard about Tayton Timothyon the news and decided they wanted to help.
Tayton has been in the hospital since December 26, when she fell during a roller skating accident and suffered a skull fracture. Tayton is also battling a strep infection and meningitis.
The Johnson sisters approached their principal last week about raising money to help the family with medical bills. They used the theme of dolphins, playing on Tatyon’s love of the Miami Dolphins football team. The sisters collected messages of encouragement, and more than $4,000.
“I’m really surprised,” Sophia said. "I’m really proud of everybody. We put in a lot of effort for this.”
The school presented the money to Tayton’s mom, Sammi Timothy, at an assembly on Thursday. Kanesville Elementary principal Scott Zellmer said it was touching to see the kids all come together for the benefit of someone they’ve never met.
“It really came down to, 'Hey, we just want to help,'” Zellmer said. “And citizenship isn’t about just the person next door: It’s about everybody.”
The students created a video message for Tayton. Sammi said she showed the video to Tayton in the hospital. They’re amazed at the generosity of the students.
“She was smiling and said, ‘I don’t know them,’” said Sammi. “I’m like, ‘I know, but they want to help.'”
The sisters say they’re glad they were able to do something to help Tayton, and hope one day they’ll be able to meet her.
"We don't know her, so we don't know what she's like, but we did help her, because she was in need, so we did as much as we could," Sabrina said.
Sammi said Tayton continues to improve. They hope to visit Kanesville Elementary when Tayton is released from the hospital to thank the students in person.
