Lawrenceburg Primary Student Wear Caps for Emma; Raise Hundreds of Dollars

October is Rett Syndrome Awareness Month

Students at Lawrenceburg Primary School paid to wear hats on Thursday to support fellow student, Emma Black. Photo by Travis Thayer, Eagle Country 99.3.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - There were lots of hats being worn at Lawrenceburg Primary School on Thursday. 

Students had to pay $1 to wear their favorite hat in class, but it was for a good cause. Many others were dressed in purple (Emma's favorite color) and yellow (her birth month). 

October is Rett Syndrome Awareness Month, and Thursday was all about supporting kindergartener Emma Black, who suffers from the rare, genetic neurological disorder that leads to severe impairments affecting nearly every aspect of a child’s life such as their ability to speak, walk, eat, and even breathe.

All of the money raised on Thursday will go towards Emma's personal fundraising goal of $5,000, which will be used for research to find treatments and hopefully a cure for Rett Syndrome.

"We are so excited to support Emma and her family. We love Emma and we love to be able to raise awareness so other people can learn about Rett Syndrome and support them and help them to be learners here at school too," said Principal Tammy Grieve. 

Emma, who is a student in Angelia Schwartz's special education class, is nonverbal and doesn't have functional use of her hands but she uses her eyes through a special device to point and click what she wants to say, such as what she wants for lunch or to complete assignments. 

"Lawrenceburg is such a tight knit community, Dearborn County in general. I just love the way that students and families rally around each other whenever there is something going on," said Mrs. Schwartz. "The more awareness we can bring to Rett Syndrome, the more money we can help raise maybe the more treatments we can help researchers find, and the better we can help students like Emma and maybe find a cure." 

Through Thursday's fundraiser, students and staff at LPS raised hundreds of dollars, pushing Emma's fundraiser over her $5,000 goal. Community members can add to that total by donating at https://loom.ly/UfRkHy4.

The fundraising page will remain active through the end of October. 

Students gathered in the gymnasium Thursday to show support for Emma Black. Lawrenceburg Primary School photo.