Students at Sunflower School are joining what has become a community effort to help the family of a former classmate who’s dying from the effects of a chromosome disorder.

School officials are asking students at Sunflower, where 11-year-old Zach Frey attended second grade last year, to bring spare change or bills to help fill a jar that will be kept in the school office for two weeks starting Monday.

“We just felt like they needed some help, so we went ahead and decided to have this fund-raiser,” said LeMyra Allen, a counselor at Sunflower and East Heights schools.

The gesture touched Zach’s mother, Teri Frey, who said public response had been overwhelming since July 31, when a story about Zach’s illness ran in the Journal-World.

“It’s incredible,” said Frey, a single mother. “It helps me to remember what I’m grateful for. Even though it’s a difficult time and I have moments of feeling pretty sad and feeling pretty alone, there’s still those moments that I know I’m not alone.”

More than $2,500 in contributions have poured into a memorial fund some friends set up at First State Bank & Trust, Frey said. A lemonade stand, also organized by friends, pulled in more than $700.

Proceeds will help pay for Zach’s funeral expenses. Doctors have predicted the boy could die in a matter of weeks.

Because Zach was born with DiGeorge Syndrome, a disorder that has caused him health problems since birth, his mother was unable to secure life insurance for him. So the generosity and thoughtfulness of complete strangers have been much appreciated, Frey said.

As she awaits the inevitable, her son is receiving hospice care. He was doing well earlier this week, she said.

“We all know that the outcome is going to be death, of course. There’s no way of getting around that,” Frey said. “But Zach’s such an amazing kid. He’s got fluid in his lungs now, but he can still put on a smile. He can still wrap his little arms around my neck and hug me and giggle at things.”