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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With the school year starting during a pandemic, teachers and students are having to make some major adjustments. But one teacher is going above and beyond to help her students succeed.

Ms. Donita has not only worked through the pandemic at the Rising Sun Learning Center, but she has also offered to help one of her students families outside the classroom, and Sarah Flower appreciates it.

“She’s offered to help, when my grandmother was sick, she’s like, ‘I’ll come over here and help you and pack and just sit with her for a little bit,'” Flowers said. “She’s always like ‘do you need anything, do you want anything?’ She’s always with my mom asking my mom when she drops off Madelaine, ‘Do you need anything.'”

“She’s offered to help me with my sister, she’s offered to come and babysit Madelaine and help out teaching her and learning,” Mary Bundy, Flowers’ mom, said. “She is just a beautiful person and a great heart.”

“We are leaving to go to Border Star, and I just want to pay it forward to her,” Flower said.

Flower and Kathy Quinn walked into Mrs. Donita’s classroom and surprised her with an envelope and $400.

“I wanna say thank you guys,” Ms. Donita said. “I guess it just shows what I do for other people, they do for me, and I thank you guys. Thank you so much — loss for words.”

FOX4 loves your ideas for our future Pay-It-Forward stories. To nominate someone who’s not a relative, fill out the Pay It Forward nomination form on FOX4KC.com.