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Giving from the Heart
FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- A tragic misfortune, a grandmother's story and a little girl's caring nature resulted in a gift that touched the hearts of several people.
When 5-year-old Anna Baldonado's grandmother told her about a structure fire that destroyed a good portion of a house occupied by Kala Scott and her two young daughters, she felt sad and wanted to do something to help the two girls. Baldonado said she went through her personal toy collection and picked out some toys to send to the girls.
"(I picked the toys) because they had a fire," Baldonado said. "My grandma knew about it 'cause she lives by there, so she told me on a Sunday. So I picked the toys on that Sunday."
After the toys were sacked up, Baldonado and her mother Darcy dropped the sack off at the local American Red Cross office. Whendi Martin, Executive Director of the Bourbon County Chapter of the Red Cross said she was not in the office when the sack arrived, but when she returned to the office and began looking at the sack's contents, she was touched by Baldonado's selfless act.
"When I looked in the sack I noticed there was two of everything," Martin said, "and her reason was there were two girls one her age and a younger sister. I know all of that stuff probably has a special meaning to her."
Baldonado said since there are two girls who lost many of their toys, she wanted to do something to help. At the Red Cross office on Monday, Baldonado proudly showed the contents of the sack which contained her gifts. The sack contained two of everything -- baby dolls, Barbie dolls, coloring books, teddy bears, reading books and puzzles. In addition, Baldonado included a smaller bag full of hair bows, a diaper bag for the baby dolls and baby blankets.
"I thought they'd want a doll to play with," she said. "(I gave two of them) since there was two little girls."
On Monday, to show appreciation for Baldonado's thoughtful, selfless giving, Martin presented her with a special "Certificate of Appreciation for helping to promote fun and laughter."
"I just think she needed to be recognized for her selfless act of giving," Martin said. "I thought giving her a certificate of appreciation was the least I could do to show her that her thoughts were appreciated."
Baldonado was also presented with an American Red Cross Angel of Mercy pin during the presentation.
"It was just a cool way to express our gratitude," Martin said.
Baldonado said giving the toys to the two girls made her feel happy.