PONTE VEDRA, Fla. -- Picture being a child again. Picture your two large piggy banks. It's taken you months to fill it up. A quarter here and there. Now picture emptying those two piggy banks, but not for yourself, for a classmate.
That's exactly what Manning Dempsey did.
Manning's mom wrote on an Instagram post, in which she tagged First Coast News, stating her son came home from school ecstatic.
"Manning got in the car after school and announced, "Mom, we need to give all our money to school."
Of course, that outburst warranted a follow-up question from the mom. Why she asked.
"So Christopher can go to Disney and whoever raises the most money gets a pizza and ice cream party," Manning explained.
Manning's mom then asked her son if he was doing this just to win an ice cream party, to which Manning replied, no.
"No, mom. Christopher's dream is to go to Disney. So I want to give him ALL my money," Manning said.
Dempsey wasn't sure if that meant Manning was going to open his own piggyback or if she and her husband would donate the money.
"Sure enough, when we got home, Manning ran as fast as he could to his room and emptied his two piggy banks," Dempsey wrote.
"There Mom! $57 dollars. How much does it cost to go to Disney," Manning asked.
According to Dempsey, Christopher is a Dreams Come True Kid - the foundation that gives dreams to local children with life-threatening illnesses. Manning’s school, Palmer Catholic Academy, is sponsoring his dream to go to Disney. Dempsey says Christopher has Cerebral Palsy and his mom works hard to make ends meet for the family.
"Manning still doesn't fully understand his sister had cancer or that she was born prematurely (hell, I still can’t wrap my head around it!). And I'm not sure if he fully absorbs the significance of his gift," Dempsey wrote.
Since her initial post, several people have stepped in wanting to help. Dempsey posted an update to her Facebook page stating a friend had offered to cover whatever expenses are left to make Christopher's dream trip to Disney come true.
Dempsey also tells us Manning's school raised enough money to send three kids to Disney.
"Beyond proud of my Manning. Keep on giving buddy, trust me, it comes back to you ten (thousand) fold."
