Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
A former Colton music teacher's fundraiser for a recently deceased student has surpassed its goal and will be benefitting the family of the student.
"I never imagined it would blow up like this," said AJ Miller. Miller taught music at Colton until spring 2019. He is now assistant director for the WSU marching band and music instructor at the university.
Miller set up a Go Fund Me account after learning of the June 2 death of Colton middle school student Dylan Kirpes.
"Dylan was a super awesome kid," said Miller. He taught Kirpes for four years.
The tuba was Kirpes' instrument of choice. He used the school's tuba which Miller said at one time was a very good instrument and still functioned, but was very old. During his time at Colton, Miller applied for grants and used the funds to purchase new instruments for the school. The tuba was one of the instruments he was not able to replace.
Miller set up the fundraising campaign with the goal of $5,000. The money would be used to buy a new tuba to donate to the school and the rest given to Kirpes' older sister Paiton who is attending WSU in the fall.
"We wanted to get a good beginner tuba that would last," Miller said. The type he decided on costs in the neighborhood of $3,500.
Two things happened that Miller did not expect. The first came after contacting the Yamaha rep he deals with for the WSU instrument. He explained the situation and Yamaha replied they would sell the tuba to him at cost – about $2,100.
The second surprise was the amount of support the fundraiser received.
"It took off like a rocket. I was blown away," Miller said. He created the account June 10 and announced June 13 they had met their goal. The fund was receiving so much support, he kept it open. As of June 22, donations had reached more than $6,600 from 116 donors. The largest donation was made anonymously for $500, but multiple donations of $25, $50 and $100 added to the total.
With all that has come in, Miller will have at least $4,000 to put into an account at WSU for Paiton – Go Fund Me collects a 3% fee. Miller was expected to present the gift to her at the Wednesday evening baccalaureate service at St. Gall's.
"(The community donors) want her to go and be successful," Miller said.
Kirpes' father expressed his appreciation through the Go Fund Me page:
"Our deepest gratitude to everyone who donated to this amazing fund raiser; may Dylan's memory live with us always through this new tuba for CHS . . . Thank you for your support and love that this amazing community has given us."
Miller expects to have the funds in July. Once the tuba is purchased, he will have to go through the process of donating it to the school which donation the school board would have to approve.
Miller said he will leave the account open until June 28 for anyone else who would like to contribute.
Jana Mathia is a reporter at the Whitman County Gazette.
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