Unsung Hero: Grace Fralick
WEST FRANKFORT -- A West Frankfort girl proves age doesn't matter when it comes to helping others.10-year-old Grace Fralick organized a pajama drive supporting children in need at The Night's Shield shelter.
Since opening in August 2009, the shelter has served almost 550 children who are victims of abuse, neglect, or abandonment. The emergency shelter gives them all a safe haven. "Every child that comes to the shelter- one of the first things we do is bathe them or have them take a shower and we give them pajamas," says Night's Shield Executive Director, Judy Davis. Davis says some children arrive at the shelter and don't even know what pajamas are. But they always come to appreciate the comforting gift. Recently, shelter leaders announced they were in urgent need. 10-year-old Grace Fralick and her stepmother Lisa took note. "My step mom- she found something on Facebook. The Night Shield said that they were running low on pajamas," Grace says. Lisa added, "We try to work with Grace on donating stuff and giving to others when we can." And from there, Grace decided to kick off the "Sweet Dreams Pajama Drive". She made flyers and asked local students, and Lisa got the word out on Facebook. The pajamas started stacking up. "We were getting boxes from complete strangers," says Grace. And after just a few weeks, Grace had collected 117 pairs. She surprised herself, and those at the shelter. "For her to be such an unselfish young lady- to come forward and do this drive for us- was just unbelievable," says Judy. Grace says she wants to continue to help the Night's Shield because they rely on donations. Leaders there say the community support is always needed. "We are a home. We say shelter, but we are a home," says Judy. "So anything that a person needs in their home- is what we need here- but quite a bit more." "You need to be more grateful for the things you have," says Grace. "Because some people might not have that." If you'd like to make a donation of any kind to The Night's Shield, visit their website, or call (618) 932-6400. |
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