POWHATAN COUNTY, Va. β An online fundraiser raised thousands in a matter of days to support a Powhatan teacher who put off her retirement after her husband's cancer diagnosis.
Lynn Stephens has taught special education for over 40 years, including 20 years at Swift Creek Middle in Chesterfield and the last 22 at Powhatan Middle. Bradley Kopelove, who teaches art at Powhatan Middle, said Stephens welcomed her with open arms when she started at the school just under two years ago.
"Lynn is one of the best people that I know," Kopelove said. "She made feel really at home in Powhatan. I was at Richmond Public Schools for the last 13 years, and I made the transition to Powhatan, and she welcomed me with open arms."
Stephens had planned to retire at the end of last school year β but her husband, John, was diagnosed with leukemia. With John beginning extensive treatment at VCU in April, she postponed her retirement to continue working and supporting her family while taking daily trips to Richmond. Throughout the process, Kopelove said Stephens has always looked on the bright side, even in the face of bad news.
"She would just say, well, we have our faith, and I'm going to be positive. And when John received his bone marrow transplant from his donor, his blood type went from A to B Positive. And so they made a big joke about it, because that had been the motto the whole time, 'be positive.' So how appropriate it was that that was his new blood type," Kopelove said.
Earlier this month, John made the decision to enter hospice care.
Without an option to donate their paid sick leave days, Kopelove and the other six grade teachers at the school came together with an idea to support their friend and colleague: a GoFundMe fundraiser, to give Stephens a financial cushion to take unpaid leave and be by her husband's side.
They set up the fundraiser on Friday, Oct. 10. By Saturday, the fundraiser had hit $5,000. By the end of the weekend it had surpassed $10,000, and it's now over $17,000. Kopelove said the group was shocked by the outpouring of support.
"She's just a phenomenal woman, and I think that really shows in how much money the GoFundMe attracted and how much support, how many people wanted to reach out," Kopelove said. "I saw Facebook posts of former students of hers writing testimonies about Mrs. Stephens, letting them eat lunch with her, and how she really got them through middle school, and kind of spreading the word."
John passed away on Monday, Oct. 13, just over a month before what would have been their 28th anniversary.
The Stephens asked Kopelove to commend the nurses, PAs, NPs and doctors at VCU who cared for John throughout his treatment on their behalf.
"They wanted to me to also mention how phenomenal the VCU nursing staff was, and how they fell in love with everybody there, and it just became a second family to them," Kopelove said.
The GoFundMe currently has a goal of $20,000, which Kopelove said they hope to reach to continue supporting Stephens.
"It's just a testimony to how much our community wants to give," Kopelove said. "It's a testimony to the close-knit community, and also to Lynn and how much she's affected and impacted, positively, people's lives. They just want to share and want to do something to help."
Click here to view the GoFundMe page.
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