Honoring a family legacy and protecting future K-9s

Yahoo

29-05-2025

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — A beloved tradition returns this year, this time with the goal of protecting future K-9 officers by providing them with body armor.
It all began in 2022 with a generous offer from young Annalise Kenyon. She wanted to donate all of her birthday and Christmas money to an animal shelter in honor of her Aunt Amy — or Mimi, as the kids called her — who passed away unexpectedly due to kidney failure.
'When she first passed, I wanted to donate my money to Animal Welfare League because she liked animals a lot but [my mom] said I couldn't do it. And so then I, I've always wanted to have a lemonade stand, so then I had the idea and we just kind of went with it, and then it got really bigger,' Annalise said.
'It's for our aunt who passed away, and it means a lot to us because we get to have a memory of her,' Jordan Kenyon added.
Annalise and her brother, Jordan — with the help of their parents, Melissa and Gregory Kenyon — have hosted Aunt Mimi's Lemonade Stand every year since. This year, the family is growing to include Jack Neapolitan, a retired Boardman police officer — and they're going big.
'I really wanted to build this more than just how it started off, just raising money for the dogs,' Neapolitan said. 'The tremendous assets that are available in this area, and I want to showcase all of it. … Things that you can probably only see on TV, you can see in person.'
It costs $1,050 for each vest, adding to the already extensive list of expenses involved with a K-9. But those vests can mean the difference between life and death for the brave, furry officers.
'The dogs and the handlers are the first ones that set off into the dark for the worst of the worst,' Neapolitan said.
'The police, they do a lot for us, and the dogs, they go through a lot of training and I think it would just be nice to have them be kept safe for any tragedies,' Annalise said.
They've partnered with the nonprofit Vested Interest in K9s and after hearing Neapolitan's story of his own police dog, the organization donated the first vest in his memory. Another friend of Neapolitan made a significant donation that will cover the cost of another vest. Both of those will go to the Boardman Police Department K-9s, Jack and Mako.
'The departments, they run on tax dollars and no one wants to pay more taxes,' Neapolitan said. 'The departments' budgets are normally very strained, and there's a tremendous amount of cost people probably don't realize goes into just having a K-9 program.'
In his talks with Vested Interest, Neapolitan learned that one K-9 officer was shot five times but survived, thanks to the vest, and was able to return to duty after it recovered.
Last year, it poured during their outdoor event, severely cutting down their profits. So this year, they're moving to Penguin City Brewing, where they have the option of moving all the planned events inside the brewery should the weather choose to not cooperate.
There will be one big bash, held from noon until 4 p.m. on June 21. It will feature demonstrations by area K-9 teams, drone demonstrations, SWAT trucks on display, food trucks and, of course, you can see Annalise and Jordan at the event, making fresh-squeezed lemonade. There is no admission fee.
Their ultimate goal is to make $20,000 to protect our area's pawed protectors. Donations can be made virtually via Venmo @Melissa-Kenyon-5 or PayPal [e-mail]. Melissa said in the past, they've also received kind letters and donations to their home at 2039 Elm Trace St., Youngstown, Ohio 44515.
Gregory says his sister would be proud of what their family is accomplishing in her memory.
'[Amy] is definitely watching, definitely proud of the two kids for sure,' Gregory said.
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