STAMFORD–A local woman is asking for help to fix a destructive act.
Kellie Cooke decorates the Jesse Lewis toy soldier statute at the West Beach park playground in his honor in Stamford every holiday. Jesse Lewis is one of the 26 people who were killed in the Sandy Hook tragedy in 2012, and the playground at the park was opened and dedicated to him on May 5, 2014.
However, when she and her mother arrived over the weekend, they found the concrete, green-painted statue in rambles. The legs had been cut off, and the head was damaged.
Cooke wrote on a fundraising page that her “heart sank” when she saw the damage, and she “wanted to do something to help.”
Cooke launched a GoFundMe page to help raise the funds.
“This little boy was able to help nine of his classmates escape as Adam Lanza reloaded his gun. He will forever be known as a hero with a brave heart,” Cooke wrote on the GoFundMe page. “Any donation would mean the world to not just me but to Jesse’s family. As Jesse’s family testify ‘LOVE NEVER ENDS.’ Lets keep the love going for Jesse. Thank you!”
Scarlett Lewis acknowledged the destruction, and Cooke’s efforts to fix them, on the foundation’s Facebook page. “Thank you Kellie and all who continue to love and support me, JT and Jesse and our mission to spread Jesse’s message of ‘Nurturing Healing Love,'” she wrote.
