When you have children, you are hoping to raise them to be kind, thoughtful and loving members of society and that is exactly what Deanna Verhey and her husband have accomplished with their son Jaxon. 

Jaxon's fifth grade teacher Mrs. Durant has a 19-month-old daughter named Lonnie who has been diagnosed with a Wilms Tumor, which is a type of childhood kidney cancer. So, Jaxon decided that he wanted to do some fundraising to help Mrs. Durant and her family out in these tough times. 

Jaxon's mom Deanna Verhey said that he has grown up watching her and his father do poker runs for childhood cancer called the Strathmore Poker run and decided that he wanted to do a bit of fundraising himself. 

"We just jumped in, and we thought a bottle drive would be a good thing to do. He (Jaxon) has been so attached to Mrs. Durant this year and we wanted to do something for her throughout this tough time to make things a little bit easier." 

The hope is for them to raise as much as possible for now. Verhey says that usually with the poker runs they can make between $15,000 and $25,000. 

"We're hoping for a little bit more from the communities. I have Standard, I have people reaching out from Rockyford and just everywhere really. We already got a ton of donations that are coming in."

The bottle drive will be the weekend of June 17, the drop-off will be at Wheatland crossing school until 4:00 p.m.

"I have people that are messaging me so I'll be going in and out of the recycling depot so it's not all at one time."

Verhey and her family have also organized a charity poker run to raise money. The run will kick off on June 24 at Original Joe's and there will be a $5 breakfast and $30 to play and all the money from the breakfast will be going to the Durants. From there they will be headed to Triple B Tavern in Rockyford, Carbon Bar in Carbon, Last Chance Saloon in Wayne and then their last stop will be Carlo's Bar in Standard. 

"For the poker run it is not just bikes, it's also classic cars or anyone who wants to come out for a day. Whoever usually wins the poker run usually donates the money back to the family, but they can keep the money or hand it back. It's their choice."  

They will end the day with a chili and bun potluck at a friend's acreage with the whole meal being donated by Rockyford Bar. 

Verhey says that Mrs. Durant is overjoyed and overwhelmed with gratefulness with the community coming together to help her and her family.

For more information on how to help go to the 'Poker Run & Bottle Drive for Lonnie' Facebook page.

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