DURHAM COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Durham County teacher is hoping a popular hashtag (#FeedFerguson) will restore hope and end hunger in Ferguson, Missouri.
While demonstrators continue to clash with law enforcement in the St. Louis suburb, school officials say they're forced to delay the start of the school year.
That means students who rely on free or reduced lunch are going without. That didn't sit well with Julianna Mendelsohn.
"As a teacher, the reflex action is to ask in any sort of crisis situation - how are the kids being taken care of," Mendelsohn said.
Mendelsohn says she had an overwhelming need to do something. The fifth grade teacher at Mangum Elementary in Bahama launched an online fundraiser. Her initial goal was just $2,000 for the St. Louis Area Food Bank. Her idea is getting the attention of the national media and celebrities like Ellen Degeneres and singer Trey Songz. The singer donated $10,000 and asked his Twitter followers to do the same.
The Feed Ferguson campaign has raised more than $130,000 and counting.
Mendelsohn wants others to go beyond the news headlines of the Ferguson, Missouri controversy and send a message.
"It restores their faith in the fact that there are good people out there who care," she said.