First Responders Repay Kindness To A Thoughtful First Grader

Chapin, SC (WOLO)–  Maddie Edwards is only 7-years-old but knows how big of an impact kindness can have. In the land of pencils and crayons, and wiggling bodies, there is one girl who stands out. In a fire-truck red dress, Maddie is speechless when an EMS crew stops by just to see her, and pay forward an act of kindness she had shown them.

“It got a lot bigger than we were expecting,” Karen Edwards said, Maddie’s mom. 

Maddie decided she wanted to help, not just the victims of the Amtrak crash that killed two people and injured more than 100, but she wanted to do something for the first responders too.

“To know it came from a little girl who just saw it on the news and thought she needed to do something to help us was pretty heartwarming. So, I just wanted to make sure she knew it didn’t go unnoticed,” Lt. Karen Ellington with the Lexington County EMS said. Maddie brought donuts to them with her mom. And today, the first responders showed Maddie, being kind can be very, very sweet.  

“Because they work really hard, and they should get something in return,” Maddie said. 

“But I just wanted you to know, that I personally ate a donut on Sunday, and I really really appreciated it. And I just think you’re pretty awesome for thinking about us and doing that on Sunday,” Ellington said.  Lake Murray Principal Claire Thompson says kindness is pillar of what they teach their students. 

“We need to share, be kind, invite everybody, and make friends,” Maddie said. Now, Maddie has made a lot of new friends.

“I hope all the kids here, and kids everywhere, and people everywhere will see that… what one simple gesture of kindness can do,” Ellington said.