The Missouri mom, who lost her job because of COVID lockdown, donated her lottery winnings to Kansas City cop shot in the line of duty.
A Missouri mother who lost her job because of the coronavirus lockdown has been deluged with donations after she gave away her lottery winnings to a police officer shot during the line of duty.
Shetara Sims was down the her last $7 when she found a dollar bill in a parking lot and used it to buy a lottery scratch-off card. She won $100 and her 12-year-old daughter, Rakiya Edmondson said, "We should donate it to the police officer that got shot for his family to go eat and see him," the child told a local station.
And so they did, and an extremely grateful Kansas City Police Department established a GoFundMe account for the mom and daughter. As of Thursday, it had raised more than $100,000.
"With her current financial hardship, we urged her to keep the money. She refused, saying the officer's family needed it, and police needed to know they were supported," the department said on the site. "Shetara's act of kindness has touched Kansas City, and they wanted to give back. This is your chance to do so!"
Sims had called police from an unlisted number and didn't leave her name. It took some digging to find her and thank her, the department said. The single mother told officers her daughter had been murdered in 2012 and "the detectives who worked her daughter's case were like her therapists, fathers, and lifelines all in one," police said.
Word of her donation swept local precincts and the community. Officers spent days finding her. "To hear her call and just express thanks for no reason other than she's thankful, it's really impactful to us, and it's really touching to us," Kansas City Police Department Sgt. Jake Becchina told local reporters.
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