February 20, 2012

Kasia Buyaki is a second grader at Stony Point Elementary School with a big heart. After last year's earthquake damaged the ceilings and cracking the walls at Thomas Jefferson Elementary, she wanted to raise money to help.

“Well, how would you feel if you couldn't go to school? I would feel bad,” said the Albemarle County student.

Now, Thomas Jefferson students are coming together. They're grateful and ready to accept Buyaki's generous gift of $845. It's an amount that she is proud of.

"Because if you only got about $100 I would be excited, but not as much because that's not a lot. Since it's $845, I was pretty excited,” said Buyaki.

Buyaki and her sister, Julianna, worked hard encouraging their classmates to participate in a Read-a-Thon that raised a dollar for every book they read.

“We just kept it going. You read one book and you feel really good, and you just want to do it more and more to make yourself feel better. Also, at the same time, you know that you're helping,” said Julianna Buyaki, a fourth grader at Stony Point.

Kasia Buyaki is a young hero helping to place new books in student's hands. “It makes me happy because no matter what I'm always helping somebody,” she said.

After a tough school year, Buyaki's kind gesture is one Thomas Jefferson students won't forget. In addition to raising $845 dollars, students also collected office supplies and several books for their Louisa County counterparts.