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Former student holds change drive for Guilds’ School

Former Spokane Guilds’ School student Lane Anderson, 14, visits with current student Chance Huntoon, 27 months, at the school April 2. Both have Williams syndrome. Lane held her own penny drive at her school in Bonney Lake, Washington, to benefit the Guilds’. (Dan Pelle)
Former Spokane Guilds’ School student Lane Anderson, 14, visits with current student Chance Huntoon, 27 months, at the school April 2. Both have Williams syndrome. Lane held her own penny drive at her school in Bonney Lake, Washington, to benefit the Guilds’. (Dan Pelle)Buy a print of this photo
By Mike Prager mikeprager15@gmail.com(509) 459-5454

Lane Anderson, 14, wanted to do something to repay the Spokane Guilds’ School and Neuromuscular Center for the help she received as a toddler in Spokane.

Now living in Bonney Lake, Washington, Anderson mounted a school penny drive at her own school to raise funds for the Guilds’ School here.

Last week, Anderson joined her family on a return visit to the school, 2118 W. Garland Ave., to turn over the proceeds of her penny drive.

Inside the school entry, she proudly told the staff the results – $825.

“I love this school and how they are so caring about people with disabilities, and I just wanted to help them out,” she said.

Lane’s Change Drive for Kids paralleled the annual Community Day Penny Drive for the Guilds’ School, which is scheduled for April 25 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Volunteers in the Spokane area will be collecting pennies at the Guilds’ School and at 11 high-traffic intersections that day.

After hearing the amount that Lane had raised, Bobbie League, the school’s planned giving officer, told Lane, “That’s a lot of pennies for us, and you know, we are the penny people.”

Lane is something of a success story for the Guilds’ School, which serves children and their families up to age 3.

Last year, the school increased the number that it served by 9 percent to 234 children, said Dick Boysen, executive director.

When Lane was 18 months old, she was diagnosed with Williams syndrome, a genetic condition that can cause a wide range of health problems. About one in 10,000 people are affected by the condition, according to the Williams Syndrome Association website.

Fred Anderson, Lane’s father, said the therapy she received at the Guilds’ School helped her advance to both regular and special needs classes in public schools.

Last New Year’s holiday, Lane resolved that she would raise $100 as a gift to the Guilds’ School.

She pitched the idea to her associated student body at Mountain View Middle School in Bonney Lake, where she lives with her mother. The Momentum Club at the school helped her formulate ideas for raising funds. She said the other kids thought her $100 goal was way too modest.

“Everyone said, ‘Oh, no, there’s going to be way more than that,’ ” Lane said.

She also approached the Bonney Lake High School ASB and asked for their support and they joined the effort. Her mother, Kelsey Anderson, is an assistant principal at the high school.

Word got out over social media, and the drive drew out the other students’ giving, Lane said.

Her grandfather, Alan Anderson, drove her to Spokane last week during spring break to present the donation.

Lane had another reason for going back to the Guilds’ School. She said she wanted to meet a 2-year-old boy who has the same condition she has to see how he was doing.

“Hopefully, Lane will be a role model for him,” Boysen said.