LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Doing customized work at his shop, Nick Cooper is the owner of the Toy Factory.
"We do wheels, tiles, lifts, window tint. We do a lot of stuff," Cooper said.
He's worked in that capacity for about 34 years. Some of his other work, however, includes air brush and clear coat finish on caskets for families of gun violence victims.
"It definitely gives us a little peace to be able to give them peace because they are already dealing with a lot," Cooper said. "That's why we do not try to charge for these things."
In return, Cooper is asking for a donation to his non-profit, Project Kids 1st.
"If you give $5 or if you give $200 it doesn't matter, it's not even about that. We just need help in order to help others," he said.
Due to recent violence in Lexington, Cooper tells LEX18 there's a recent uptick in the number of caskets he's received.
"It's a tough thing to try to keep incurring these costs especially when you're doing three and four and five of these a month," Cooper said.
Time isn't the issue.
"We understand we'll eat that part of it. It's just the material side of it," Cooper noted.
It speaks to Cooper's strong involvement in the community.
There's a message to the families of these victims, similar to the one conveyed by Devine Carama, ONE Lexington Director.
"Do you need us to do anything else for us for you? it's just a very emotional thing at the time," Cooper said.
