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.