While laughter echoed throughout the room, constant chatter was heard left and right.

Alone, he sat on the brown benches in the cafeteria eating his lunch.

Out of nowhere, a group of boys came to him.

A brown-haired boy in the front, with a smile, asked, “Can I sit here?”

He nods and smiled. He doesn’t have to eat lunch alone anymore.

The brown haired boy was kind.

That was the word used to describe Knox Dydalewicz.

He stood for kindness.

He stood for joy.

He stood for inclusivity.

Knox passed away on April 27, 2024 from a UTV accident during a dad’s weekend at his Nanny’s family farm, surrounded by his family and friends.

After a week of his services, Knox’s parents, Kimberly and Kevin Dydalewicz, were overwhelmed with notes. They received many messages from his friends, family members, teachers, neighbors and coaches – all talking about the wonderful kid Knox was. They were inspired them to start a foundation, Live Like Knox, in his name.

“We feel like Knox is driving this for us,” Kevin said. “The foundation is to support and provide scholarship opportunities for kiddos. It helps kids with meal plans at school or league fees if they’re in extracurricular activities.”

The scholarships the foundation provides are strictly character based, not academic.

“You don’t need to have a certain GPA or be a great athlete,” Kimberly said. “These awards and scholarship funds are truly given to kids that walk with kindness and that are empathetic, that are inclusive, that are joyful, that smile, that have a laugh for life.”

Through fundraising, the foundation has received a tremendous amount of money. In just three months of starting the foundation, they’ve raised over $200,000 and it is predicted they’ll be able to award over $100,000 in scholarships to students by the time they have their inaugural foundation dinner in April of 2025.

Along with the successful fundraising efforts, the foundation’s community has also grown tremendously. Phinley Wooldridge, ‘27, saw the impact to Frisco at the homecoming game.

“When we were passing t-shirts on the field, I could just see people light up when they heard about how he was like,” Wooldridge said. “Seeing people carry through the kindness aspect of the organization is very rewarding.”

However, the impact hasn’t been limited to just Frisco’s community. It has reached cities like Dallas, Austin and San Antonio, as well as states like Nebraska and Florida. It has even reached high profile names.

“I don’t even know how they received it, but Barbara Corcoran posted her wearing our shirt on her story,” Kimberly said. “I feel like there’s just so many people that want to have this joy and positivity so they bring us into their homes and communities.”

The Kindness Crew is responsible for the reach of the foundation’s impact. The team consists of 43 members and additional volunteers. They work to carry on the mission of the foundation, where currently, they are organizing a basketball tournament at Fieldhouse Frisco on Nov. 16.

Even with a team of 43+ members, the foundation itself wouldn’t have been possible without Knox’s friends, like Brooke Blair’s, ‘27, younger sister.

“My little sister actually was the one who had the idea to wear blue on the last day of school,” Blair said. “I think how I got involved was starting with little things like that, [while] coming up with ideas with my little sister and participating in different activities, like wearing blue. It’s really nice to get to see how this foundation brings these kids together.”

Knox’s foundation has had an impact in Frisco’s community and beyond, but it’s also contributed to helping his parents grieve.

“I think the biggest hurdle and most difficult part is just navigating our pain through this time, as it’s very hard to lose a child,” Kimberly said. “But taking some time away from my full time job so I can focus on the healing and also work on the foundation, helps us to carry Knoxy’s name forward.”

Krystle Harbert, the new Health Science teacher, had the opportunity to teach Knox in fifth grade. She says doing little things with this foundation can help raise awareness about it.

“Whether it be getting a yard sign or telling my kids to sign up and do the golf tournament in the springtime,” Harbert said. “I want to do anything to be a part of the work to bring awareness to the foundation. Knowing Knox was just a small part of it. For him to be one child, he’s left a legacy: promoting kindness. I think that’s what makes this foundation so contagious.”

Kimberly and Kevin are proud of their son and the legacy of kindness he left behind. They are grateful to be able to keep paying Knox’s kindness forward.

“Everyday [Knox] walked out the door to school and I would always ask him, ‘Sweetheart, what is your goal today?’,” Kimberly said. “He would always say, ‘Mom, my goal is to be kind’. That was something we practiced everyday on his way out to school and he truly, truly, walked that walk and it’s time we do this for others.”

This story was originally published on The Racoon Rambler on October 18, 2024.