Season of giving

This winter, West University Elementary School welcomed third grader Diego Morales. Diego’s family had moved to Houston because his 11-year-old brother, Victor, required cancer treatment from MD Anderson. Victor has been battling bone cancer since he was 8 and, after he stopped responding to chemotherapy, was sent to Houston for an experimental drug treatment. The boys’ mom, Yesenia, was expecting another baby at the time. When Diego’s teacher, Rachel Treviño, learned about the Morales family’s situation, she was moved to help. Rachel reached out to the WUES community and her own network through Facebook. Assistant principal Amber Pinchback collected baby gifts from faculty and staff. After just a week, Rachel had collected $6,750, plus gift cards, baby items and Christmas gifts for the Morales kids. Two days after Yesenia delivered her baby girl, Sofia, Rachel and administrators from WUES visited the nonprofit A Shelter for Cancer Families to surprise the Morales family with the check and gifts. Yesenia had no idea and said she’s deeply grateful. Pictured are (from left) Victor and Yesenia Morales, Sofia Morales, Diego Morales and teacher Rachel Treviño. See more details and photos at “West U Community Embraces the Season of Giving" by Pooja Salhotra.

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