Iowa Kid's $34.01 Life Savings Triggers Outpouring of Donations

IOWA CITY, IA — Nine-year-old Riley Lafrentz's simple act of selflessness has resulted in a flood of support for sick children, along with praise for the Indianola boy who donated his life savings to helping them. The University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital shared his story Friday morning and it generated more than 2,500 responses, 110 comments and approximately 750 shares on Facebook within four hours — along with numerous pledges of donations in the amount of $34.01.

Riley had been saving his money to buy NFL cards, the hospital wrote, but when he saw "the Wave" while watching a Hawkeye game and learned that it was a new tradition in support of patients who could see the stadium and its fans from their hospital beds, he was moved to help those being treated at the children's hospital.

So he gathered his life savings, wrote a note and sent it off to Iowa City.

"Hi! My name is Riley," he wrote. "The reason I sent the money is that when I watched a Hawkeye football game I saw a kid that had cancer and I felt sad, so now I realized that you need the money more than I do. From your friend, Riley."

He ended the note with a hand-drawn Hawkeye logo and his interpretation of the smiling face emoji and a finger raised to signify "#1" — along with a cheery "Go Hawks!!" to support the team.

Riley is a football fan and had been saving money to buy a pack of NFL cards, the hospital's social media post says, "but he decided this was more important."

Responses were immediate: Some commenters asked how much Riley's savings amounted to so they could match his contribution to the hospital. When the response was that his donation was "$34, give or take a penny," it triggered donations of just that: $34.01.

Joey Giudicessi of Des Moines made the first $34.01 donation and challenged others to do the same. "I thought the extra penny was a nice touch. Every penny counts as Riley has shown us," he wrote.

"Adults should follow the selfless acts of children more often," wrote Susie Petitti Tilton, adding that she pledged the same donation in honor of Riley.

Others replying to the hospital's post said they wanted to buy Riley the cards he had been saving to purchase or donate from their own card collections.

"Valuable life lessons for young & old alike... kindness, empathy & caring for one another," wrote Deb Burger.

"Oh, Riley, what a wonderful thing you have done by being so generous and so kind! You have made the world a better place," Margery Haganman of Wapello said.

Missie Lafrentz, Riley's mom, said family and friends were inspired by his generosity and had been sending him more money to donate and she thanked everyone for sharing the post and supporting the hospital.

"I hope this inspires others to 'give more than they get' this Christmas season and all year round!" she wrote on Facebook, adding that it's "amazing how infectious love and kindness can be."

Riley's "$34.01" donations and other contributions to the hospital may be made to: University of Iowa Center for Advancement, c/o UI Stead Family Children's Hospital Fund, PO Box 4550, Iowa City, IA 52244-4550. The hospital lists these ways to give on its website.

The hospital also said it will accept the NFL football cards people to wish to donate to Riley Lafrentz and make sure that he gets them.

Photo: Iowa fans wave to children in the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital at the end of the first quarter of an NCAA college football game against North Texas, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017, in Iowa City, Iowa. "The Wave" became a tradition this season at the end of the first quarter of home games. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)