A local organization and Norwalk family held their seventh
annual walk to raise scholarship funds for students in the community and in
their late son's honor.
Tremain and Fritzsa Gilmore unexpectedly lost their son
Elijah in 2016 when he was 4-years-old. According to the Gilmores, Elijah loved
school and learning. Through their organization, EJ's H.E.A.R.T, they select
scholarship recipients who graduate from Norwalk and Brien McMahon High
Schools.
"He loved school and education and his teachers. We just
thought that we like help push forward," Fritzsa Gilmore said.
News 12 Connecticut spoke with scholarship recipient Chantel
Williams, a 2016 graduate of Norwalk High School, who used the funds to support
her college education. Williams is now a juvenile probation officer in New
Haven.
"That helped me through my undergrad as I went to
Western, so that helped me get books and helped me with my tuition and I was
able to finish out my four years and get my bachelor's in social work,"
Williams said.
The couple recently appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show,
where they were recognized for their work and received $15,000 for student
scholarships. The Gilmores said they're happy to see the students who benefited
from their program, now give back to the community.
"To see them want to actually help and give back as well
so it works round and round so it's a great feeling," Tremain Gilmore
said.
About 100 people came out to participate in this year’s 5K
walk to support EJ’s Heart. Proceeds from the event go into scholarships for
future recipients. For more information, click
here.