supporting first responders ~ supporting first responders
supporting first responders ~ supporting first responders
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13
how it began…..
In 2020 as Police Officers in our nation were being slandered, treated terribly & even shot down, my heart ached for the officers & their families. It was all so wrong! I had the opportunity to join with other families & set up what we called “adopt a Cop” at our city Police Department. It was a great ministry for Kyle & I to do together. At one time we drove into the city daily & did a prayer drive around the Lancaster City Police Station. I always told Kyle this was his ministry too. The Bible mentions several time about where 2 or more are gathered to pray, God is in their midst, so i needed him to agree with me in Prayer. We also had many friends who donated food items or dropped off basket for their “adopted cop” at our house. Since we were driving every day for kyle anyhow, making these deliveries was a great & easy thing for us to do. Kyles cousins got involved too & this made it double the fun!!! So thankful God could use us in this way!!
MAY 2022
“Kindness is a reminder of why we’re here and how we can each use our lives to help others.”
AUGUST 2021
After we set up Adopt A Cop in our city station, we started making visits there more often & we saw the amazing men & women in uniform in a more personal Lense. It broke my heart to see the terrible things happening in our nation. It also gave us more of a heart to reach out and bless our police wherever we travelled. In Tennesse, we stopped at the Hendersonville station in the area my daughter worked to drop off doughnuts. Then we visited the Ashland city station & the fire station on a day my daughter, her husband & Ivan were working on remodeling their new house & I was trying to keep Kyle entertained. We delivered some Lancaster county snacks there that we brought from home. This is something I’d really like to continue in Kyles honor & we would love for others to join us!! I would love to hear about it if you do! Email us if you would be willing to share!
On another Saturday I took Kyle & 2 younger nieces to a parking lot where another rally was stopping. We met a friend & got to see all the trucks & flags and again just be there to show support.
There are many different ways to support your local police!!!!
In 2020 I took Kyle & 2 nieces on a rally to show support for our local stations. Kyle loves to ride so I thought it would be a great Saturday adventure for us all & it was! We drove around Lancaster City & county for 3-4 hours. We then ended it at the Lancaster station.
Giving Kyle a closer view of the Police Horses at our 2022 First Responder Sunday at Petra Church
If you are a first responder needing a church home, we invite you to check out Petra Church in New Holland. Also check back next June for another first responder Sunday normally held on the first Sunday.
“Kindness is all the different ways — both big and small — we express care, concern, and consideration for ourselves and those with whom we share the world.”
It was super sweet to have Kyle join me for a prayer walk with other families & Individuals as we walked around the station & neighborhood covering our officers in prayer!
One year at Christmas time I saw a box at the station where they were collecting gifts for children who had lost a mother or father in the line of duty. I knew this was something we could do & it would be a small way of saying thank you. I took Kyle & my 4 nieces shopping and each one picked out a gift they wanted to give. We then dropped them off at the station.
There are so many ways you can support your local police & other first responders. I highly suggest getting your children & grandchildren involved! Teach them respect & honor while they are young. If Kyle & I could do this yall can too! Ask God to show you what he would have you to do in your area or as you travel!!
A Special “Kindness for Kyle” & First responder Easter celebration
I typically like to do something special for these girls for Easter, sometimes just a candy hunt & we’ve also done a neighborhood giving treasure hunt. Last year I decided if I did an event on the road with the girls, I could take Kyle along as well and we could bless some police stations. Because of busy lives and schedules, we never got it done but i put it on the shelf for this year, never thinking for a moment Kyle wouldn’t be here to join in. After Kyle passed and i was already doing Kindness for Kyle events, I decided it would be a great thing to do this year in Kyles honor. I mentioned it to Makayla, the oldest, she loved the idea and helped me plan it. We met and organized our food donations in yellow bins, and we set out to make our stops to First Responders, a teacher, a nurse, my son who works in young adult ministry and a free library we found along the way. we stopped for lunch first where our acts of kindness started, and we ended with ice cream & a candy hunt. We were so blessed while we blessed others. I hope to make this an annual event. We hope you enjoy the pictures of our day.
Getting our baskets ready at Grandma’s…
Stop 6- My sweet friend Marianna who teaches at a school in Lancaster city.
Third stop- LGH where my neice Kara is a rockstar nurse….
Our Vehicle is loaded….
Our first stop was at The Worship Center where my son is on staff. Sadly, he had left for a few hours so we just had to drop it at his desk…..
The fifth stop was one we almost skipped because we couldnt find the parking & because of the time but it turned out to be a fav! The guys at the Lancaster city police station went above & beyond with the girls.
Second stop was lunch at Jersey Mikes where the staff was incredibly sweet & God had set up a divine appointment for us!
We ended the day with Ice cream, a stop at the playground in the park & a candy hunt at my friends. What a super sweet day. We shared memories of Kyle along the way & talked of how much we missed him. A sweet way to honor Kyle this Easter!
Fourth stop was our Lancaster City Police Station. Always a favorite stop and today we were fortunate enough to see the Mounted unit with their police horses while there!
I brought a few books along and told the girls if we see a free library along the way we will donate the book and guess what?! We found one!! 😊
Stop 7- The girls local police station… East Lampeter Police. They were invited insde to meet some officers & given a few prizes.
Stop 8- Our last stop of our hunt was the State Police Station here in Lancaster who are also the ones who cover my area.
We’d like to give a special thank you to E&A Candies, Sweet Shenanigans Cupcakes, Ridgeview Bake Shop & Dauds Specialties for the donated goods that made this day possible!
Thank you for supporting our local First Responders!!!
Pennsylvania to tennessee
A trip to remember & honor Kyle….
Remembering the many fun memories from our 3 previous trips with Kyle in 2020, 2021 & 2022, and also honoring his life here and the legacy he has left us!!
God is full of surprises….
It was an incredible honor to have Kyles story shared by Gabrielle with Fox 43 on a weekly special she does called “On the Bright Side.” I am blown away! Less then a year after Kyles passing. I never want him to be forgotten!!
I’d like to say a special Thank you to Gabrielle for seeing Kyles story as one that needed to be shared and for the great job you did in all of it! You were an absolute pleasure to work with and so thankful God had our paths cross. Also special Thanks to Michelle at Camp Hill for arranging all this, Fox 43 for airing our story, Chief Margeson at Camp Hill for your kind words, and Fern for driving me to camp Hill and being my support. Finally, a big thank you to the local businesses who support me & help make these Kindness for Kyle stops happen!
I am forever blessed!!!
Thank you Jesus for giving Kyle & I a purpose through our hardships in the last years!! Forever grateful!!