Schools

(AUDIO) Centennial Teacher's Christmas Wishes Come True

Debbie Gill was nominated by a fellow faculty member to get a little help from KDWB's Dave Ryan.

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The holidays got a little brighter for one of Richfield's teachers Thursday, after she was awarded a plethora of gifts from KDWB's Dave Ryan in the Morning Show team.

Centennial Elementary School's Debbie Gill, a paraprofessional, was diagnosed with a serious stomach cancer in June 2012. Since then, she has had a dozen chemotherapy treatments and has somehow managed to not miss one day of school.

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Fellow Centennial paraprofessional Amanda Cleve, who was touched by Debbie's unwaivering spirit and happiness in awful times, wrote KDWB and asked for a Christmas wish to be granted.

Dave Ryan's Christmas Wish program has been around for the last two decades or so. The goal is to help local individuals and families who have had a tough year through no fault of their own.

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With mounting medical bills in tow, Debbie and her family are also dealing with constant problems with their home furnace. It's been fixed four times. And, to top it off, the family's snowblower broke Monday, after a major winter storm rolled though Sunday. But, soon they won't need to worry.

KDWB surprised Debbie Thursday morning with a new furnace, donated by Sedgwick Heating and Air Conditioning. In addition, her and her family received thousands of dollars in gift cards from Target, Caribou Coffee, Menards, Rainbow Foods, Panera Bread, Kwik Trip and Juut Salonspa. Her students even received loaded backpacks with school supplies.

Listen to KDWB's full feature on Debbie, including Amanda's letter to the station, the big reveal and all the gifts given in the video box above.


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