Lavaca Middle School teachers have formed a memorial scholarship to remember Seth Caraccia, an 11-year-old honor student who was killed in a tragic horse riding accident earlier this school year.
"He was an awesome little kid," said Seth's grandmother, Billie Bolin. "It's very touching, and it helps to keep warmth in my heart even though it's broken."
Bolin says she was touched when teachers from LMS asked for her blessing to establish the memorial fund.
"It brightened my world up again," said Bolin.
Joanna Bartlett, Media Specialist at LMS, said she felt helpless after Seth's death.
"To me, Seth was just an exceptional student," she said. "It's a real loss for us."
Bartlett says she and her colleagues wanted to make sure Seth wasn't forgotten. They came up with the scholarship as a way to help Seth's classmates further their educations.
"This gave us an opportunity to do something and to act and to give the community an opportunity to be part of making the sixth grade class remember Seth at their graduation," said Bartlett.
The one-time award will be presented at what would have been Seth's graduation from Lavaca High School in 2019. Bartlett says so far the teachers, Booster Club and Bolin have raised nearly $2,400.
Bartlett says the account will remain open for the next six years. They hope to award multiple scholarships to Seth's classmates in denominations of $500-$1,000.
"The more money that's in there, the more students we can share the money with," said Bartlett.
The scholarship savings account has been established at First National Bank of Fort Smith. Donations can be made to account number 4261889.