Bonnie Brae businesses raise money to honor little boy killed while crossing street

Austin Strasser

Posted: Mar 10, 2015 / 05:51 PM MDT

Updated: Mar 10, 2015 / 06:48 PM MDT

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DENVER — A community in Denver comes together this week for a little boy who died last month after a car hit him in the Bonnie Brae neighborhood.

Three-year-old Austin Strasser died when he was crossing University Boulevard at Ohio Avenue with his mother and sister. The community has decided to help children with special needs in his honor.

Seven Bonnie Brae businesses will donate a percentage of their sales from Tuesday and Wednesday to the Sewall Child Development Center. “It’s important to support the family. The more we can make, it’s better for them.”

The money raised helps support the preschool program he was a part of. He attended the school with his 7-year-old sister. “He loved and enjoyed being here every day,” said Heidi Heissenbuttel of the Sewall Child Development Center.

The school serves nearly 700 children, many with special needs like his sister. The money will help in a big way. “It`s resources that will go to helping continue to have inclusive preschool environments with high staff-child ratio and provide scholarships for those kids who need help,” Heidi said.

Here are the businesses participating in the fundraiser: