Schoolkids Raise $2,500 to Help Sick Boy

Elementary schoolchildren in Irvine have raised about $2,500 to help send a sick 4-year-old boy to a Minnesota clinic. And they continue to be flooded with offers of help.

Vista Verde Elementary School students spent a month selling Popsicles and tickets for a pancake breakfast on behalf of Jeremy Wifler, 4, who suffers from a rare heart condition.

The children, who formed the group Kids Helping Kids, want to help send Jeremy to the Mayo Clinic to undergo specialized testing on his heart, which has an extra aorta. They teamed with firefighters and paramedics from the Orange County Fire Authority, garnered media attention for their generosity, and sparked more donations from people inspired by their good deeds.

“There’s been a huge outpouring,” said Kids Helping Kids organizer Julie Hudash. “That $2,500 is blood, sweat and tears on behalf of these kids. . . . Whatever happens, we are going to know that we all did out part. We did our very best to help Jeremy.”

Jeremy, who frequently stops breathing and suffers seizures several times a month as a side effect of his condition, has visited the Rochester clinic once already. Doctors there are hoping to reexamine the boy, who sleeps hooked up to oxygen and heart sensors.

Firefighters who have responded to numerous 911 calls at the Wifler home in Irvine helped launch the first fund-raising drive to send Jeremy to the clinic, digging into their own pockets to pay for the trip.

“We just couldn’t see this little boy suffer any more than he needed to,” Fire Capt. Steve McHale said. “His mom is like the super ant digging out the Himalayas. She just keeps digging for answers.”

McHale said he is hoping to raise enough money for the family to visit the hospital in May.

Tax-deductible contributions can be sent to: Orange County Community Fund/Kids Helping Kids Fund, 2081 Business Center Drive, Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92612-1115. For more information, call (949) 553-4202. Checks should be made payable OCCF/Kids Helping Kids.