Aubryn's Got Their 6

Hey, everyone, this is Aubryn. I'm a 9-year-old who has a huge appreciation for first responders and everything that they do.

I've been hosting first responders at our home on Christmas Eve for the past five years. I serve them hot chocolate/coffee, treats and pastries. I like to play games and color and I've even made ornaments with the first responders that have shown up.

The year before last the Sheriff of Marion County presented me with a challenge coin thanking me for going above and beyond in thanking those who serve our community. I displayed that coin proudly during that year's Christmas Eve event and ended up collecting coins from each agency that stopped by. In January, I asked my parents if I could give them something from me to carry as a reminder that they are loved and appreciated. We decided to have a challenge coin made for me to hand out. We had 100 made and I QUICKLY had them passed out at the last appreciation event and only have 3 left. I have since been invited to the Department of Corrections meeting and honored by them for showing my appreciation.

Now I've been invited to participate in a state meeting to honor elite first responders and asked to hand out my coins there. I've also been asked to present our local SROs (School Resource Officers) with coins. I would LOVE to take part in these events but we are lacking the funds to have more coins made.

I will host a law enforcement feeding event in June this year and will participate in a September 11th ceremony to honor first responders. I'm also working with someone and currently organizing a bigger event for next March and also an event for kids to cater to first responders. This is the reason we are doing the GoFundMe.

We will use the funds raised to purchase more coins and if there are any additional funds they will be used for putting together bags of appreciation to be dropped off at various venues throughout the year.

The first responders that we recognize and throw the appreciation events for are firefighters, police, Sherriff, Dept of Corrections, nurses, doctors, EMTs and veterans.