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Special education teacher Kendall Whitten set up a GoFundMe account to help her former student, Keith Griffith, pay tuition for his college program after a grant his mother applied for did not come through. (Courtesy Heather Griffith)

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Even as congratulatory messages continue to come in for Keith Griffith, an Alabama teenager with Down syndrome who recently learned that he was accepted to college, his high school teacher has launched a fundraising effort to help him pay tuition.

The video of Keith opening his acceptance letter from the University of South Alabama's Passage USA certificate program for students with intellectual disabilities went viral after his mother, Heather Griffith, shared it on Facebook a couple of weeks ago.

In the touching video, Keith, a 2016 graduate of Satsuma High School, sheds happy tears as he hugs his mom when he realizes he's going to go to college. Celebrities like George Takei and Ashton Kutcher have shared the video, which has been viewed by millions.

But last week, his mother learned that Keith didn't receive an O'Neill Tabani Enrichment Fund postsecondary enrichment grant for adults with Down syndrome to help pay his tuition. She had applied for the grant in March.

"We were supposed to find out about the grant before the acceptance," she said, but she was notified that the organization had received an "overwhelming response" from applicants, so the response was delayed.

When Keith heard the news, he was devastated. "I told him there was a possibility he might not get to go, and he bawled for hours," Keith's mother said.

His high school education teacher, Kendall Whitten, suggested starting a GoFundMe account for Keith. "After so many people were touched by that video," she said, "I told her we'd find a way to get that money."

She set it up last Thursday, and in the first two days $945 had been raised toward the $5,300 goal - the cost of one semester of the two-year Passage USA program.

Kendall first met Keith when she was still in college, working as a counselor at Camp SMILE in Mobile. Later, she would be his teacher for four years.

Keith's family is "so involved in everything he does," she said. "I would say they are one of the most supportive families I've ever seen in my life."

In high school, Keith was a popular student who was the honorary captain of the bowling team, prom king and Mr. Satsuma High. "The kids go crazy for him," Kendall said. "Everyone here just adores him."

Heather, a stay-at-home mom, and her husband, Kit, are in the process of moving into a new home in Satsuma. "With one income, it would be difficult for us" to afford the tuition, she said.

Going to college is "all he talks about," said Heather. "It would be a shame for him to not go."