RIVERVIEW - The loss of a child is most likely the worst pain a parent could feel.

When it comes to honoring their memory, many feel that giving back brings a sense of peace.

After suffering a heartbreaking tragedy five years ago, the Hernandez family committed to turning their pain into purpose and they’ve been doing it every day since to honor their son.

On Wednesday, the family stood outside of Collins Elementary School with a gift basket and more than a $1,000 in monetary donations. 

It’s certainly not something they’d do every day, but February 25 is special.

“We are here to celebrate the fifth birthday of our son Christian who passed away in 2016,” said mother Lindsay Hernandez.

Christian was born with medical conditions that were unknown during Lindsay’s pregnancy.

“He passed away in our arms after two hours and five minutes, but we committed as a family that we were going to honor his little life and be his parents however we could,” she said.

From his passing, the Christian Michael Hernandez Foundation was born.

On this year’s Kindness for Christian Day on his fifth Birthday, the donations were given to what would have been his kindergarten class and outdoor classroom at Collins Elementary.

“We’re definitely going to be able to do really fun activities with our students for the rest of the school year,” said teacher Megan Smith.

“We just had our virtual kindergarten event yesterday and they could have been on that screen because Christian could have been starting with us in August. We understand where their heart is,” Principal Rebecca Sargable said.

“We feel so blessed to know that little boys and girls who would have been his friends will get to be a part of the donation. We feel so humbled to be welcomed into Collins and do it in this way,” said Lindsay Hernandez.

For this year’s gift, $500 was donated to the kindergarten class from the Christian Michael Hernandez Foundation, $500 more was matched in donations for the outdoor classroom, and $150 was donated by Doublemint Sitting.

Along with giving back each year on his birthday, the Christian Michael Hernandez Foundation is very active in the community.

They offer on-call support for families in crisis, they provide meals and clothing for people in need, and serve patients in assisted living facilities, plus a lot more.

For more information, click here.