Teacher donates kidney to eight-year-old student
Third-grade teacher Jodi Schmidt gave her organ to a young girl called Natasha, who suffers from a chronic kidney disease
As Jewish youngsters traipsed back into class this week, to be reunited with their educators, a teacher from the United States showed how special that bond can be.
Jodi Schmidt, a third-grade teacher in Wisconsin, became a hero last Monday when she donated a kidney to 8-year old student Natasha Fuller, potentially saving the young girl’s life.
Natasha, suffering from chronic kidney disease, was all smiles back in school, proclaiming Mrs Schmidt to be “the best” as the pair hugged and kissed following their recovery from surgery.
Asked about her decision, Schmidt said she knew she had to help, adding: “It wasn’t a difficult decision at all. It was a little bit more difficult for my husband, but for me no, I really believe it was meant to be.”
Natasha, who now doesn’t have to miss school because of dialysis, said: “Mrs. Schmidt is a wonderful teacher, and she takes care of a lot of kids. She’s the best.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
