SOLON — Solon Intermediate School (SIS) fourth graders used Project Jack grant money to make life a little more comfortable for Solon High School freshman Elizabeth Petrie, better known to the community as “Biz.”
Biz captured the hearts of the community earlier this year when she was diagnosed with kidney failure. Most people wouldn’t know Biz has a serious medical condition just by looking at her. “She’s come a long way from two weeks in the hospital, to multiple surgeries, and a lot of trips to the hospital,” said Lisa Petrie, her mom. “We continue that journey, we’ll be back in the hospital June 1 for a lot of blood work and different labs (testing) to see how her blood cells are doing.”
SIS used the grant to buy fabric for the blankets, made them, and then sold them to raise money, which was donated to Biz along with her own blanket complete with embroidered “Biz.” Sami McAtee, SIS 4th grade teacher, explained adults pre-cut the material, which was tied together by the students working in groups of four-five in the gym. “A huge shout-out to Jessica Brimeyer, she did a lot of the communicating,” McAtee said. “We were going to sell them at school events but we ended selling them all out to SIS kids.”
McAtee presented Biz and Lisa with a check for $400, which Lisa said would go toward Biz’s special diet.
“She’s very restricted on what she can eat,” Lisa said. “She’s not very happy about that.” The blanket will also help keep her warm during hospital visits and during her nightly dialysis routine. “She’s trying to go to school as much as she can, some days are a little harder than others. All through the night she’s hooked up (to the dialysis machine).”
About Project Jack
The REALTOR® Foundation of Iowa is the driving force behind the project, which started several years ago at Alan Shepard Elementary School (in Long Grove, Iowa) in memory of Jack Lindaman, a student who died from cancer in February 2010. The Foundation gave each student in his class $100 to “pay it forward” any way they wanted to with projects ranging from charitable donations to passing out roses to strangers. According to the Foundation, the project has gone statewide with fourth and fifth-grade teachers invited to fill out an application for a $250 grant to be used for a “pay it forward” type of project.
A GoFundMe page has been established at https://www.gofundme.com/f/p8fse-please-show-your-support.
“I’m originally from Solon and I’ve never, ever, seen this kind of rallying and support around someone so near and dear to my heart, so thank you so very much,” said Lisa.
A blanket for Biz
May 24, 2023
About the Contributor
Chris Umscheid, Editor
Chris Umscheid is the editor of the Solon Economist.