26-05-2025
Community comes together to raise money for family of toddler who died at Lenoir daycare
LENOIR, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — On Tuesday, the family of the 16-month-old who died at a Lenoir daycare will hold a funeral service in her honor.
One person is facing charges in connection with Maddy's death, and the state has shut down the daycare where it happened, Creative Beginnings of Lenoir.
A group of community members and small business owners are making sure Maddy's family is taken care of while they grieve.
This affected all of Caldwell County and nobody knew what to do with their emotions, so we just wanted to bring everybody together,' said Jenny Braswell, who helped organize a fundraiser on Sunday.
What started as a routine monthly gathering of Caldwell County Jeep owners turned out to be a whole lot more than that.
'Nobody should ever have to prepare to bury a child financially, especially when they're 16 months,' said Braswell. 'While we can't take away the pain they're feeling, we can help some of the financial struggles that they're going through right now.'
Braswell and other small business owners partnered up on Sunday to raise money for the family of Maddy, the toddler who died after going into cardiac arrest last week at daycare.
'I couldn't even imagine it,' said Brianna Bentley, another organizer. 'My son, I couldn't even imagine it. It breaks my heart for the mom, the family, and especially how it happened. No person should have to go through that.'
Through sales of drinks from Carolina Coffee and clothes and accessories from other local boutiques, to donations, the small business owners expect to have raised between $3,000 and $4,000 for the family.
'Caldwell County, you did not disappoint,' said Braswell.
About 500 people came out to listen to live music and support the cause. Some don't know the family personally.
'Even though they don't know us, that Carolina Coffee and the community is here for them and Lenoir is behind them 100%,' said Bentley.
Others do.
'I was so close to that girl,' said Clarissa Watts, who attended Sunday's fundraiser. 'The mom is like a sister to me. It's just heartbreaking. Maddy was, she laughed all she could. The ducks, she loved ducks. Ducks was her favorite thing.'
Those rubber ducks Maddy loved so much are represented in a growing memorial outside Creative Beginnings of Lenoir.
'She went too soon,' said Watts. 'She shouldn't have went too soon. But I know she's looking over me.'
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