Students at St. Christina school presented Officer French's mother, Elizabeth, with money the students collected this past week in the hopes of giving back and supporting police officers.
The donation was made during mass at St. Christina on South Homan Avenue in Mount Greenwood.
Elizabeth French spoke at the mass in support of first responders, sharing the story of her daughter, who was killed in the line of duty in 2021.
"Our mission is to be out there for those officers, wherever they may be, and if they need something, let us know, and we'll just try wherever whenever, however we can help them," French said.
The nonprofit "Light the Line" was founded after Officer French's murder in 2021 by her mother and her two partners, Officer Joshua Blas and Officer Carlos Yanez, who was critically wounded when Officer French was killed.
"An honor and a blessing to be apart of Light the Line, you know, giving back to the officers," Yanez said. "And you know... I can't work alongside them, so this is my doing my part."
In return for their service and sacrifice, students at St. Christina surprised French with a donation, money they collected and gifted themselves.
"They do so much for us that we just need to do even little things that help out," student Michael Prendergast said.
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"It made me feel really good, just knowing that I helped, like with police officers and that my class was a part of that," student Natalie Kemps said. "I think it's very important because they give us so much trying to protect us and protecting our city."
French said the money will help their mission of relieving the burden of stress facing officers and their families.
"If I could, I would like to hug them all," French said. "And for it to come from children, our next leaders in this world, it's just awesome."
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Several of the students who gave are sons and daughters of officers themselves.
Elizabeth French said some day they hope to have more vehicles with "Light the Line," which is a fleet of mobile well-being units.