Woman Honors Son’s Memory with School Supply Donation
Thursday was a big day for students in the Robbinsdale School District, and it’s all thanks to the hard work of Lisa Raley.
“We’ve got several boxes of folders, paper, pencils, just your basic color crayons, glue, stuff like that,” said Raley, who lives in Howard Lake, roughly an hour west of Minneapolis.
She came to the district office in New Hope Thursday morning with boxes of supplies that will go to students in unstable housing situations.
It’s a kind gesture considering that she has no ties to Robbinsdale Area Schools. But, she’s doing it to honor the memory of her son, Brett.
“Hopefully he’d be happy because I’m helping kids,” Raley said of her school supply donation.
In 2012, Raley said that Brett was on a moped with a friend.
“Lost control. My son flew off the back,” Raley said. “Slammed into a fence. His so-called friend hid his body.”
Brett Raley, seen here holding a baby in 2010, was killed in a moped crash in 2012.
By the time his body was found 45 minutes later, Brett was gone. He was only 18-years-old when he died.
“[In 2012] I was sitting there talking with my mom and my family and it’s like, I want to do something to keep his memory going,” Raley said. “And like, ‘What do I do? What do I do?”
Keeping His Memory Alive
She landed on this school supply drive, which is now in its 11th year. This was her first time donating to Robbinsdale, which is one of a half dozen districts benefiting from her generosity.
“I am grateful and really thankful for the donation,” said Anne Grui, Robbinsdale’s director of student services. “And I know that the families that we serve who qualify as homeless and highly mobile … it’s really important to them.”
It’s a gesture born from tragedy that will ultimately benefit hundreds of families.
“I’m gonna be coming until I can’t walk around anymore,” Raley said.
If you’d like to help Lisa Raley with her school supply drive, you can reach her via email at Lraley1969@yahoo.com.
Lisa Raley, (center), stands with officials from Robbinsdale Area Schools and boxes filled with school supplies.
