A Chester County Mother and Daughter, Energizing Tons of Food Donations
By KYW community affairs reporter Cherri Gregg
WEST CHESTER, Pa. (CBS) -- At the start of 2014, Mady Wiley, then five years old, and her mother, Nicole, made a New Year's resolution: they wanted to give.
"It was my daughter's idea to come up with a food drive," recalls Nicole Wiley.
This West Chester duo set their goals high, at 20,000 pounds of food. But Mady, a Westtown school first grader, didn't just sit back and let mom and dad do the work.
"She was the first donor to this project -- she gave money out of her allowance," says Nicole. "She'd carry the food when we (delivered it). She was very involved."
Together, on social media, these "Best Dressed Tomboys" solicited neighbors, co-workers, classmates, and friends who donated food and money, filling the Wiley garage with thousands of pounds of canned and boxed goods to be delivered to local food cupboards to help those in need.
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"They were, like, 'Wow! that's a lot of food,' " says Mady, when asked the reaction at the food cupboards.
So far the pair (with the help of Dad, of course) have collected and delivered 16,000 pounds of food-- just 4,000 pounds shy of their goal.
"I'm just sort of flabergasted at what just two people can do," says Nicole.
But Mady says there's a lesson.
"You can do anything," she says, adding, "It's really cool to help."
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Know someone in your community who cares enough to give back? Nominate them for KYW Newsradio news coverage at communityaffairs@kyw.com!
