Roy Community Gifts Thousands Of Dollars To Teacher Fighting Cancer
Dec 21, 2020, 7:04 PM | Updated: Dec 22, 2020, 12:55 am
FARR WEST, Utah – Administrators from Roy High School played Santa Monday as they made a special delivery from the community to teacher Chris Maag.
Maag was recovering at his home Monday in Farr West after his second cancer surgery.
2020 hasn’t been great for a lot of people, but the school elves did what they could to make things a little better for the Maag family.
Not that long ago Maag had to let his students know in a Facebook video that he had been diagnosed with cancer.
“It’s been a minute since I’ve done a school video,” Magg said in the message. He was vague with his diagnosis but shared a major clue — “So it’s the same one that Lance Armstrong had.”
The cancer is stage two and he can come back from it. Still, it’s why students, parents, teachers and administrators put this gift together.
“I don’t even know what to say,” said his wife, Angie Maag. Chris Maag did know what to say — “Holy crap,” he said, after the family received about $14,000.
All of the money was raised through T-shirt sales, which showed how ‘Royally Maag-nificent’ he really is.
When times get rough it’s nice to know people have your back.
“You know, you spend your whole life teaching and you try to give and you think you’re doing a good job, and then when it all comes flying back at you, like, tenfold, you feel like you haven’t done enough,” Maag said.
The T-shirts were worn all over the school in Maag’s honor Friday.
“You can see who Chris Maag is. And if you know Chris Maag, you love Chris Maag. Kids are lining up to get in his class and he’s just great to every one of his kids,” said Matt Williams, Roy High School principal.
He has been teaching world history in Roy for 17 years.
“The community is just wonderful,” said Angie Maag.
Chris Maag will have three to four rounds of chemotherapy. He may not return to school until sometime around April.
“If anyone says 2020 blows, I don’t know, man. If there’s as much love and gratitude in this neighborhood and in our community and Roy, I really, are you kidding me? It’s a pretty good place to be,” Maag said.
Williams said officers with the Roy Police Department are also bringing a donation to the Maag family, and part of the school’s Sub 4 Santa program will go to them too.
