When I was four years old I asked my parents what happened to the children that didn't have homes on Christmas. They told me that sometimes people help those children and Santa still brings them gifts, but maybe not the gifts like I would receive. I remember at that moment that I wanted to help others, especially other children. I thought how unfair it was that I got things, and they didn't. With the help of my family and church, I raised $600 to help get food and water to a tent community in Indianapolis IN. From that point on I wanted to help others whenever I could.
I helped to serve at our local soup kitchen and gathered donations to make care packages for the homeless and less fortunate. I loved seeing them smile from the goodies that were inside. Then I found out about a friend of mine at school. She was a foster child, and told me about how she was taken out of her home because her parents were doing bad things. She told me how scared she was. I decided to begin making Smile Bags to help other children like my friend, or children who have been in other situations that the police had to take care of them. I first donated bags to the police department in Greenfield, Indiana, then to the Hancock County Sheriff's Department. When word got out about the Smile Bags, my parents were contacted by other departments. I knew this was something special and wanted to help as many children as I possibly could.
With the help of people and organizations around my community, I was able to make over 100 bags for police departments throughout Central Indiana. In 2020, my family and I relocated to Northwest Indiana, and I began distributing Smile Bags to our local police department and then the state police post in Lowell, Indiana. Since then, I have delivered several thousand smile bags to over 30 different police and fire departments in Indiana and Illinois, and my project has been featured on WGN News, FOX, CNN/Headline News, and several podcasts and newspapers.
I am so excited about how much this has grown and hope to have my Smile Bags in many more emergency vehicles in the future.
