CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A mother is keeping her daughter’s memory and mission alive by raising money to help children at the same organization where her daughter worked with underprivileged kids. 

What You Need To Know 

A mother is hosting a 5k walk and run at East Chapel Hill High School Saturday to raise money for school supplies for underpriveleged kids in memory of her daughter Kristian Monet Richardson 

The walk and run is 9 a.m. Saturday. Registration starts at 8 a.m. 

On average, kindergarten through 12^th graders spend about $850 a year on supplies. The National Retail Federation estimated consumers spent $37.1 billion on back-to-school supplies last year

Pat Richardson started the Monet Richardson Foundation after her daughter, Kristian Monet Richardson, died days after Mother’s Day.

Kristian was a graduate from East Carolina University and East Chapel Hill High School, where she played basketball.

The 23-year-old died in a car accident in Atlanta last May.

“She did not see the traffic was stopped, and unfortunately she didn’t have time to advert the accident and she had an accident where she ran into a tractor trailer, and she did not survive, and nor did one of her best friends,” Pat Richardson explained.

Only one of Kristian’s friends survived, so now Richardson is turning her pain into purpose.

“We’re excited to host the event here at East Chapel Hill High School. This is where Kristie got her foundation,” Richardson said.

Richardson’s hosting the 5k Run and Walk to raise money for children in underserved communities, who can’t afford backpacks or money for college.

Kristie started collecting backpacks for kids after witnessing children come to the YMCA with their school supplies in trash bags.

“They were bringing those things in CVS and Walgreens bags, and so she just thought this isn’t right, and she saw that happening year after year because she was at the 'Y' for five years, and so that year she decided to do something about it, and she created the backpack program,” Richardson stated.

Richardson kept the program going after her daughter died because she saw the need. Fifteen million children in the United States  don’t have enough money for basic school supplies, according to the National Center for Children in Poverty.

“As rich as our country is, it doesn’t make sense for our kids to have trash bags and recycle filled with their belongings,” Richardson said.

On average, kindergarten through 12^th graders spend about $850 a year on supplies. The National Retail Federation estimated consumers spent $37.1 billion on back-to-school supplies last year. That’s up $3 billion from the previous year. 

Richardson hopes those unsettling numbers will inspire someone to remember her daughter, an East Carolina University graduate, who loved giving back to kids in underserved communities.

“I wanted to continue her legacy, and I wanted to continue the work she had done,” Richardson said.

The 5K walk-run is April 23 at East Chapel Hill High School where Kristian graduated.

Registration is 8 a.m. followed by the 5k walk and run at 9 a.m.