Teresa Fowler's students at Hans Herr Elementary School responded to the recent death of one of their classmates by doing something positive to help other children with her condition.

Taylor Giunta and her sister Alexis were both born with I-cell disease, also known as mucolipidosis II. Four to five years is the typical lifespan for children affected with this rare terminal disease. Symptoms may include weak muscle tone, developmental delay, limited mobility and skeletal abnormalities.

Medical needs for Alexis and Taylor made them unable to attend school in the classroom, but they were able to be a part of special education classes via video link and Zoom long before the COVID-19 pandemic forced all classes into virtual learning.

After Alexis passed away in 2018 at the age of 11, Taylor continued to attend classes daily and was with her classmates from kindergarten on. Although she was nonverbal, she communicated with her classmates and developed deep friendships. "Everyone in our class loved her, and she had her way of letting us know what she was thinking," Fowler said.

Taylor loved dancing, jujitsu, coloring, being with friends and family and all things Disney, especially Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

When Taylor passed away in January at age 12, her classmates were saddened by the loss. "They said, 'We don't want that to ever happen again. We hate I-cell disease,'" Fowler said.

The children came up with the idea of making and selling dog treats to raise money for the Yash Gandhi Foundation, an organization that is trying to find a cure for I-cell disease.

Taylor's Pup Treats seemed to be the perfect fundraiser since Taylor loved dogs, and the treats could be made in shapes that included some of Taylor's favorites such as Mickey Mouse. Ingredients for the dog treats included wheat flour, peanut butter, pumpkin, eggs and cinnamon. The class made a video to let all the other classes at Hans Herr Elementary know about the fundraiser. Sales ran from March 21 to 31, with the goal of making $1,000. In that short time, the students sold 538 bags of dog treats with three per bag, raising $1,310 for the Yash Gandhi Foundation.

The foundation's mission is to raise awareness, build patient advocacy and sustain research efforts into finding a cure for I-cell disease. For more information on the nonprofit organization, visit http://www.ygf4icell.org.

Weis Markets, Giant Food Stores and Target donated supplies and ingredients for the dog treats so there were no costs involved and the full amount from sales and donations could go to the foundation.

Fowler was recently named 2022 Lampeter-Strasburg Teacher of the Year, the first special education teacher to receive that honor since the program began in 1960. At the awards ceremony, she shared her experience with Taylor and the way the students responded to Taylor's death.

"This is how a little thing from child to child, class to class, helped heal our grief and empower our students. It became such a big thing to us. We felt encouraged by our school, and we achieved something far beyond our expectations," Fowler said.