Over the weekend, the Richardson community raised funds to support crossing guard Tammy Rogers.
The fundraising was done to assist in paying for Rogers’ medical bills after she suffered a stroke last month, as reported by Fox 4 News.
Rogers’ stroke resulted in the paralysis of her left side and major speech impairment. She was also left with a need for 24-hour care but had no medical insurance.
To help cover those costs, the Richardson community organized a fundraiser for her: “Coffee with a Cause.” The community offered coffee in exchange for donations to help fund Rogers’ medical care.
Rogers has been working as a crossing guard at the Beltline and Floyd intersection by Richardson Heights Elementary for 15 years, and she attended the school as a child.
Richardson parent Gari Phillips praised Rogers’ dedication to her job, telling Fox, “Ms. Tammy takes care of those kids like no tomorrow. She would throw herself down in front of a car if something was about to happen.”
Phillips was also impressed with the way in which the community stepped up.
“We are just blessed to have this community around us,” she expressed to Fox.
Rogers’ husband, Terry Tubbs, was speechless when he saw the support from his community collected in a donation jar outside of Richardson Heights Elementary on Sunday.
“I didn’t realize how many people actually cared,” Tubbs told Fox 4.
The fundraiser brought in almost $4,000, and Rogers’ GoFundMe additionally brought in over $15,000. Richie Conry, who provided the coffee trailer for the fundraiser, told Fox that people were dropping hundreds of dollars and even checks into the jar without even asking for a coffee.
Rogers’ GoFundMe was organized by her childhood friend, Diane Hurster, and all the money raised is going to aid Rogers’ recovery.
In a Monday update on the GoFundMe page, Hurster expressed her gratitude for the donations, saying, “Tammy is starting to feel sensations in her scalp, all the way down to her toes! She will leave the hospital this week and live with family while getting the 24/7 care she needs.”
Tubbs hopes his wife will soon be back out at the school.
“We are not giving up on her,” he told Fox.
