'It means a lot': Students raise money for police officer who lost home in fire

Maitland, Fla. - After a school resource officer lost his home in a fire, elementary school students decided to step in and help.

Maddie Moore, 7, and her friends set up a summer lemonade stand to help School Resource Officer Josh Rotarius.

The Maitland police officer lost his home this month when lightning struck his home and started a fire. Luckily, his dog Null woke him up, and thankfully they were both out safely.

Moore and her friends were able to raise $350 in cash and $450 for his gofundme page. The girls gave the officer and his companion, Null, a table full of treats, a dog bed, and doggie daycare passes with the cash they raised.  

"You don’t know how much people care about you until something like this happens. And then a lot of people, even little kids, do something like this to help out, help Null out, it’s amazing," said Officer Rotarius. 

To remind the officer, when life gives you lemons, the Maitland community will be there to give you lemonade.

"You see a lot of things that are really hard. And you’re usually there to try to fix something. So when it’s other people helping you, you don’t know how to take it at first, but it definitely makes you think you’re doing a good job," said Officer Rotarius. 

If you would like to help the officer, you can donate here.