Josie Freier Scholarship Fund

A little over 2 years ago, the Spokane Valley community woke up to the news that 3 University High School sophomores were involved in a car crash which resulted in the loss of Josie Freier and her best friend, McKenzie Mott. 

Josie was a beautiful, loving and feisty girl who always fought for the underdog and stood up to bullies. She attended South Pines Elementary School, Bowdish Jr. High, and University High School. She was a talented soccer player and made a huge impact in her school and community during her short life. She loved her family fiercely and considered her mom to be her best friend and would ask to stay home from school so she could hang out with her. She had a passion for volunteering and supporting Toys for Tots. 

After the senseless and tragic deaths of these two girls, the Spokane Valley community poured out love and support for their families and wished we could do more to help them. This year is their Senior year, and as everyone has been sharing senior photos and first day of school photos, we realized that we could do more. We could help keep Josie's memory alive and bring a positive impact to other student's lives by establishing a Scholarship fund in her name and give away the first scholarship during what would have been Josie's graduation year of 2016. The scholarship will be awarded to a student in the Central Valley School District, and some of the criteria will be a clean driving record and volunteer work in the community. 

In talking to the Freier family, they were so thankful for the idea of keeping Josie's memory alive through this scholarship. Not wanting to leave McKenzie's family out, they did check with them to see if they would like to be included. McKenzie's family gave their full blessing that this fund should be in Josie's honor.

Friends of the Freiers rallied behind the idea and came together at South Pines Elementary School to see what they could do to help. When we told Josie's mom, Kristin, that there were 23 of us at the meeting, her reply was, of course there were...23 was Jojo's special number and the number on her soccer uniform.

The financial goal in order to establish the fund through a community organization is $10,000. We talked about many fundraising options and decided to put on a silent auction as the first fundraiser for this cause. The Auction For an Angel will be held on December 6th At Valley Event Center from 2:00-5:00. A dessert buffet, kid's craft corner, auction of many wonderful goods and services will be available. Entertainment will be provided by Bob Lonn's (Josie's Grandpa's) band.

If you cannot attend the auction and would still like to donate to this wonderful cause, please feel free to do so here or drop off a donation directly to Spokane Teacher's Credit Union (STCU) in the name of the Josie Freier Scholarship Fund.