Las Vegas Teacher's Teary TikTok Plea Leads to Over 1K Wishes Granted for At-Risk Teens: 'You Matter'

Cheri Guy turned to social media to fulfill more than 1,000 "Wishmas" requests from high school students living in a poverty-stricken area

Wishmas is a wrap.

More than 1,000 wishes from Las Vegas high schoolers living in a low-income area were granted after teacher Cheri Guy made a teary plea on TikTok to the social media community to help make their requests a reality.

The result was a deluge of gifts and monetary donations that helped fulfill every one of the requests made from teens attending Desert Pines High School, Guy tells PEOPLE.

“I never in a million years thought it would go this far and wide or get this big, but what a wonderful thing to have happen,” says Guy, 51. “It has consumed every waking moment when I'm not in front of students.”

Guy chokes up telling PEOPLE about the students, who sign up for the Wishmas program that asks them to not only list their wish, but the reason behind it. Many asked for items for family members, others for things with special meaning to them.

“There was one that said, 'I just want a [coffee chain gift] card because I don't get to see my dad often, but whenever I do get to see him, he always takes me [there]. And I would love to buy my dad some,'" Guy says.

The program at the Title 1 school — where close to 3,000 students qualify for free and reduced lunch — was started almost a decade ago and is now spearheaded by teacher Nicole Whaley.

“We have a lot of kids who are in the foster system, we have a lot of kids who are living in poverty,” says Guy, an English teacher in a program for at-risk students. "These students are under a lot of stress."

In the past, about 300 wishes were granted by teachers and staff. This is the first year Guy got involved and felt they could amp up that number by reaching out to the social media community. She made the TikTok from her account MsGuy, which now has more than 165K followers, and gifts came pouring in.

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Guy says a lot of people sending the gifts include little messages for the student. She reads one: “The world is full of endless possibilities. I hope this opens a portal to good things for you. You matter. Your hopes and dreams matter. Never forget that. Merry Christmas.”

“Not only are they donating financially or buying gifts, but they're sending these sweet messages of encouragement to our kids, which I think is so important,” Guy says.

And some folks are going big: The CEO of Dearfoams heard about the girl who wanted slippers to keep her feet from getting cold and donated boxes of slippers to the school.

Another example of kindness: One student who dreams of becoming an astrophysicist asked for a $200 textbook about physics. Two astrophysicists offered to buy the book. After they were told that it had already been purchased, Guy suggested that perhaps they could write an encouraging letter to the student. One responded with an offer to not only write a letter, but also to mentor the student.

“Imagine a 14 or 15 year old who dreams of being an astrophysicist and have one who came from the same kind of socioeconomic background telling you, 'I know what you are dreaming and I did it,'” Guy says. “Those are the things that make this all worth it.”

Guy’s own wish is that people see the possibilities when a community comes together to be part of something bigger than themselves.

She says she was reminded of the fractures in the world when she was making yet another trip to the Post Office to pick up more deliveries. She was stuck in traffic across the street from where the Dec. 6 University of Las Vegas shootings took place. The 67-year-old gunman killed three faculty members and wounded a fourth.

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“I’m seeing students crying on the streets, and the world needs hope and kindness and belief in humanity,”  Guy says. “And I feel like so much of that is hard to find these days.”

By the last day of school before winter break on Dec. 15, close to 1,000 students were presented with their requests. Some wishes are “future gifts,” says Guy, including yearbooks, graduation caps and gowns and senior trips.

Guy says it all was made possible by the kindness of people all over the world.

“I hope what comes from this is that these kids realize people love you, people believe in you and people want the best for you,” Guy says. “But also I’m hoping it lights something in them as they are moving into adulthood that makes them say, 'I want to do that for someone else. I want someone else to have that feeling.'"

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