A foundation established in honor of an incoming student who was killed in the catastrophic Central Texas floods is raising money and donating supplies to special education teachers and programs in the Houston area.

Katherine Ferruzzo, who was set to study special education at UT, died while working as a counselor for Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas. To honor their daughter, Andrea and John Ferruzzo established the Katherine Ferruzzo Legacy Foundation, which helps special education teachers in Spring Branch Independent School District, where Katherine Ferruzzo grew up, cover out-of-pocket classroom costs, such as school supplies and fidget toys.

“What (the foundation) means to me is keeping her legacy alive and making a difference in this world like she wanted to do,” Andrea Ferruzzo said. “She wanted to touch the lives of special needs children and that’s what we intend to do.” 

The foundation’s Instagram handle is @livelikekatherineferruzzo, a motto that those close to Katherine Ferruzzo, like childhood friend and journalism freshman Georgia Sperandio, came up with as a reinterpretation of the traditional “long live.”

“We thought that since Katherine lived such a great life and such a fun life, it should be ‘live like Katherine’ instead of ‘long live’,” Sperandio said. “She lived every day like it was her last. She always had so much fun.” 

There is an estimated $1.7 billion deficit in special education funding per year, according to a January report by the Texas House Committee on Public Education. In its first three months, the Ferruzzo Foundation allocated $9,000 to special education teachers in Spring Branch ISD and $2,000 to cover specific supplies teachers requested.

The Ferruzzo Foundation also assembled and distributed 165 sensory task boxes, which are filled with toys and other items that help special education students develop fine motor skills and learn independently. The boxes will go to 40 individual classrooms that are part of the Autism Program Preparing Learners for Excellence program, or APPLE, which offers classes in a small staff-to-student model, according to Spring Branch ISD.

“Right now, it’s one of the only things that’s bringing me any joy since the death of my daughter,” Andrea Ferruzzo said.

The foundation will donate to the Spring Branch Education Foundation, a non-profit organization that partners with the school district to privately fund programs, such as scholarships and field trips for local students. The Spring Branch Education Foundation then writes reimbursement checks to district teachers, Andrea Ferruzzo said. 

As of now, the foundation is focused on Spring Branch ISD, but Andrea Ferruzzo hopes to grow the initiative. Spring Branch ISD representatives declined to comment.

“This is all so new, but I would love to expand this all across Texas, and if I live long enough and can raise enough money, do it all across the United States,” Andrea Ferruzzo said.

While attending Memorial High School in Houston, Katherine Ferruzzo spent three semesters in the APPLE program at Frostwood Elementary School, where she worked three days a week with special education students. 

“She loved it. She just loved it,” Andrea Ferruzzo said. “She did a ton of volunteer work with special needs children and adults. It brought her a lot of joy.”