From selling T-shirts to donating more than $45,000, friends and family of Carson Kimball are making sure the injured high school quarterback is not recovering alone.
The Bremen High School student underwent surgery for a serious spinal injury after he was tackled at Friday night’s home game against Bowdon High School. In a public Facebook post after the injury, Kristy Clawson Kimball said that her son was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital and that he could not feel anything below his waist.
As of Tuesday, Carson Kimball has begun to have feeling in parts of his body that he did not before, Shannon Christian, superintendent of Bremen City Schools, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In a Facebook post early Tuesday morning, Kristy Kimball confirmed one of those areas to be near Carson’s stomach.
“There’s been some good news shared in bits and pieces...; there’s been a little bit more to be optimistic about each day.” Christian said.
Donations have poured in through a GoFundMe campaign to help with the student’s medical expenses. The online effort has raised over $45,000 as of Tuesday afternoon. Additional events have been planned as Carson Kimball remains in the hospital. The team plays next at a Friday homecoming game against Ronald E. McNair High School.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Several local companies, including Good Neighbor Meals, are sponsoring a barbecue tailgate — “‘Que for Carson” — before the game. All proceeds will be donated to the Kimball family, according to a Facebook post from Bremen High School.
Whitney Berry, co-owner of Good Neighbor Meals, said that she saw a way to utilize her small business to help with the fundraising efforts.
“Bremen and even the entire West Georgia community have certainly come together to rally for Carson and his family,” Berry said. “We really wanted them know that the entire community is here to support in any way that we truly can.”
Emily Wheeler, CEO of Downtown Southern Outfitters in Hiram, is selling T-shirts to raise money for the Kimballs. The T-shirts will be handed out at Friday’s homecoming game against Ronald E. McNair High School.
The two shirts, one gray and one black, say “Carson Strong” and “One Hour. One Day. One Week at a Time” with No. 7 on them, Carson Kimball’s jersey number.
June and Grey, another local clothing company, is also selling T-shirts that read “Carson Strong,” and all of the profits will go directly to the family.
Christian said that while many have donated money, others are supporting Carson in different ways, including by offering condolences and praying. The support also reaches much farther than just Haralson County, he added.
“School systems (who) are our rivals have become our supporters in the name of Carson,” Christian said.
The quarterback for Rabun County, who Bremen will face later this year, even plans to hand deliver a No. 7 jersey signed by the team, Christian said.
“I am seriously amazed,” Kristy Kimball wrote in Tuesday’s Facebook post. “We have felt so much love. I’ve always known that people were inherently good, but wow … I’ve never seen this.”
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