VICTORIA -- A class at Oaklands Elementary school in Victoria launched a fundraising campaign in November to help the family of Leila Bui, a young girl who was hit in crosswalk on her way to school by a speeding distracted driver in 2017.

The vice-principal and outdoor education teacher at Oaklands Elementary, Amei Mai, was inspired to start the “side” fundraiser after reading about Leila’s younger sister, Myla, who is folding 1,000 cranes to raise money for their family’s medical costs. (Myla’s fundraiser is called “1001 Cranes, 1 Wish to raise money for the Help Fill A Dream Foundation.”)

For the fundraiser, one of the school’s outdoor education classes spent weeks making arbutus berry necklaces and selling them for $5 each, with all the proceeds going to help out the family.

Other classes in the school also helped the fundraising cause by picking the berries off the arbutus tree branches, stringing sewing needles and preparing necklaces on taut pieces of cardboard so they didn’t get tangled.

In total, the students made and sold 75 arbutus berry necklaces, and with a few other donations, presented the family with a cheque for $450 on Monday in the school’s courtyard.

“They are excited to meet Leila and they are really excited to have helped wider in the community,” said Mai, who helped lead the necklace fundraiser.

“It’s a really beautiful chrysalis, a beautiful transformation of a bunch of kids who just started coming together and helping their community,” she said.

Leila Bui and her family were all there, including her younger 11-year-old sister, Myla, who presented the class with a string of paper cranes she made for the occasion.

The Oakland students also gave Leila, Myla and their mother handmade necklaces to wear along with the donation to the family.

The students were able to ask the family about Leila – what she likes to do and some of the challenges she faces now. Unable to answer for herself, the disabled young girl’s family responded to the kids’ questions.

“It just touches us really deeply,” said Kairry Nguyen, Leila’s mother. “I can’t even express it.”

The family has been overwhelmed and is very grateful for the students’ generosity and the community’s outpouring of support throughout their ordeal.

Three years ago, Leila and her younger sister were crossing the street in a marked crosswalk in Saanich when a distracted driver blew through the intersection, hitting her. Leila was left with extensive physical and cognitive injuries. Her younger sister was unharmed in the incident.

The driver, a woman in her early 20s, has since been charged and convicted for her actions. The family is hoping to buy a special mobility wheelchair that will help Leila get around to places like the beach, one of her favourite places to visit. The chair they want is not covered under their medical insurance, so they have to pay out of pocket for it.

You can support the family with donations by visiting their fundraising page here.