‘Grant A Wish’ winners go on shopping spree at A Gift For Teaching ahead of the holidays

The 3rd, 8th grade winners were selected by their teachers

ORLANDO, Fla. – With only five minutes on the clock, third-grader Rosy and eighth-grader Richard grabbed everything they could from the shop at A Gift For Teaching.

They are two out of three “Grant A Wish” winners selected by their own teachers.

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Rosy goes to Pinewood Elementary School in Orlando.

“Despite whatever she’s gone through, she never gives up. She pushes herself and pushes others to do better. That’s why I chose her,” said Nisha Philip-Malahoo, her teacher.

Rosy told News 6 she had her eye on a bike because she wanted to give it to her younger brother for Christmas.

“I feel like my family is the best for me and they are always here for me,” Rosy said.

This is the 10th year A Gift For Teaching hosted the “Grant A Wish” celebration.

Last year’s winners, however, couldn’t shop in person because of the pandemic. Instead, their supplies were delivered.

Richard, who’s a student at Gotha Middle School, had his family and two of his teachers at the event.

“I feel good. I was kind of stressed out because I was running out of time and I didn’t know what to get,” Richard said.

Though Richard was happy to grab some stuff for his family, he was also happy to get a free tablet.

His teachers, Ms. Kendra Rodriguez and Coach Susan, couldn’t hold back their happy tears on Thursday.

The two are just simply proud of the person Richard is becoming and they look forward to seeing him grow as he gets ready for high school next year.

“I don’t know what he’s going to do with his life, but he’s an amazing man. We support him,” Coach Susan said.

Workers at A Gift For Teaching said Rosy and Richard filled 13 shopping carts and took home more than $9,200 worth of supplies and gifts on Thursday.


About the Author:

Ezzy Castro is a multimedia journalist on News 6's morning team who has a passion for telling the stories of the people in the Central Florida community. Ezzy worked at WFOR CBS4 in South Florida and KBMT in Beaumont, Texas, where she covered Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Being from Miami, Ezzy loves Cuban coffee and croquetas!

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