‘Anonymous angel’ drops off $200 to help O’Fallon students pay outstanding lunch bills
A woman in her 30s showed up at Hinchcliffe Elementary School in O’Fallon on Friday, handed an envelope to clerical assistant Mary Lazenby, wished her a “Merry Christmas” and walked out the door.
The woman seemed to be in a hurry.
The envelope she handed off contained a holiday card and $200 in $20 bills. A neatly printed, unsigned note asked that the money be used to pay off outstanding student lunch balances.
“I literally cried,” said school secretary Kathy Dalonzo. “The teacher cried when I told her about it, and I cried again when I read (the note) to her students.”
Dalonzo was referring to fifth-grade teacher Cindy Geller, who was mentioned in the note.
“Ms. Geller was my kindergarten and first grade teacher,” it read. “During that time my mom was on assignment in the AF overseas. Without Ms. Geller, I don’t know if I would have passed those grades.”
The woman saw the donation as a way to “give back” to the school community.
“It’s really nice to be remembered in such a special way,” said Geller, now 60, of Belleville. “It was a good Friday.”
The woman’s identity would have remained a mystery to all if she hadn’t later decided to “friend” Geller on Facebook. The teacher figured out that she was the anonymous donor.
They messaged each other and made arrangements to meet on Wednesday at the school. The woman realized that Geller was actually her teacher for first and second grades from 1991 to 1993, not kindergarten.
Geller joined the Hinchcliffe staff in 1988 as a full-time substitute teacher in kindergarten. She later taught first, second and third grades before going to fifth.
“I’ve had several students come back and say, ‘You always told me I could do anything I wanted to do, and I did. I went to school to be a doctor, or I’m in the military,’” Geller said.
“They come back and share their stories, and it’s just nice to hear that they left here with a good sense of family and that they want to come back and let us know that they’re successful.
“But to give cash ... That’s just amazing. I know it will really help some of the families who need it. I know it made their day.”
Hinchcliffe is one of seven schools in O’Fallon Community Consolidated District 90, which serves about 4,000 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.
Prices are $1.20 for school breakfasts and $2.65 for school lunches. About 27% of students in District 90 are eligible for free or reduced lunches under a federal program for low-income families.
The money that the woman donated on Friday will be used to pay off outstanding lunch balances for students whose families barely missed the cutoff or those with other challenges, according to Superintendent Carrie Hruby.
“We’ll give it to families that don’t qualify for free or reduced lunches but maybe they’re going through a temporary hardship because of medical bills or some other reason,” she said.
A post about the donation on the school district’s Facebook page called the woman an “anonymous angel” and described Geller as an “incredibly thoughtful and talented” teacher.
“It’s a beautiful story,” Hruby said.
This story was originally published December 12, 2022 at 5:30 AM.
