LONDON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A heart-warming surprise walked its way into the Laurel County Sheriff's Office a couple weeks ago.
Boxes of stuffed animals smiling back at sheriff's deputies.
“Just popped in with a huge donation. I cannot tell you how many stuffed animals. Not expected but definitely appreciated," Laurel County Sheriff's Deputy Gilbert Acciardo said.
A sweet gesture at first glance, but the furry friends play a much larger role.
“We give these stuffed animals to our deputies to carry in their patrol vehicles," Deputy Acciardo said.
"They use them to comfort children that are involved in tragic situations like traffic crashes or domestic violence situations.”
So who do we have to thank for the generous donation?
That would be Kyra Sizemore.
“It made me happy. It really made me happy," Sizemore said.
“I feel like every child really needs to have some comfort. No matter if its with the first responders, a child in trauma. If there’s a parent that doesn’t have enough or a single parent and that baby really needs something, I’m here to help for free.”
The South Laurel High School freshman has made the rounds with donations, from the sheriff's office to London hospital.
The efforts are a result of reviving the Embracing Babies Forever project, an initiative to help young kids that was actually started by her brother ten years ago.
“He’s like ‘are you sure you can do this?’ I was like ‘yea I can do this, what are you talking about,'" Sizemore said.
“The people in my community know that I’m doing this and I feel like it’s brought a lot of people joy in our community.”
Sizemore hopes to one day expand the Embracing Babies Forever Project into a business model to reach even more kids in the future.
