An area mother is working to teach her children to support and look up to those in law enforcement by showing random acts of kindness to those wearing a badge.
On Saturday, July 29th, Holly Cugini, of Canton, and her son, Zander, made a simple gesture that’s getting a lot of attention.
While driving through Plain Township, Cugini pulled her vehicle alongside a Stark County Sheriff’s Office cruiser.
Her 7-year-old son, go out of the car, walked up to Deputy Josh Vacha’s window and handed him a rock.
It may not sound like a grand gift, but to Deputy Vacha it was. He took to social media to share his appreciation.
“An SUV pulled beside my cruiser and suddenly stopped. There was a female driver with two young children in the back seat. The young boy, without hesitation, opened the vehicle door, climbed out of his booster seat and walked to the side of my cruiser. He proceeded with “Thank you for everything that you do and we love you”. He then reached into his pocket and gave me this stone. God bless that family!”
That rock was painted with the message, “we support you,” something that Cugini feels isn’t said enough to law enforcement today.
“We are just trying to instill that our children need to abide by the law. Officers, whether it be police, sheriff, EMS firefighters, they are all here to protect us and to protect my children. They are here to protect him. They are not here to put them in jail, they’re not here to be mean to them.”
Deputy Vacha will carry that rock with him each shift as a reminder that people appreciate and understand the good he set out to accomplish.
Cugini added, “We just did this, it’s my kids’ way to say ‘hey, we are here, we look up to you, we support you.’ Words will never express our gratitude.”
Michaela Madison Reporting
