Strangers donate hundreds to Chicago students after hearing teacher's story on flight

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago teacher recently learned just how kind strangers can be.

Kimber Bermudez was on a flight to Florida when someone asked her what she does for a living. By the end of the flight, she'd been given more than $500 in donations for her students.

Bermudez is a first grade teacher at Carlos Fuentes Charter School. She described some of the challenges that many students face, like coming to school hungry.

She didn't realize that other people were listening until she got a tap on a shoulder from a passenger who handed her a stack of money.

"I was blown away by the $100. I felt there was more and I started to tear up and I told him thank you. He told me to do something amazing. I told him, 'You have no idea how this will help,'" Bermudez said.

In all, Bermudez left the plane with $530.

A spokeswoman for Acero Schools Chicago said since the story got out, they received another $2,000 in donations.

"We're proud of strangers stepping up and being generous. We just hope that it continues a chain reaction of kindness throughout the world," Bermudez said.

She said her first priority for the money is to be able to send her students home with books in Spanish and English that the students can read with their parents.