LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The storms Wednesday beheaded a symbolic Kosair for Kids statue.
The statue, located on Gardiner Lane at Big Brothers and Big Sisters Kentuckiana, had been standing since 2009. The 14-year-old statue represented kids throughout Kentuckiana that needed a little bit of extra help from Kosair for Kids.
The organization has been helping children for 100 years now. Partnerships that gift at least $1 million receive a statue or what the non-profit calls, its "Silent Messenger."
"They indicate this is where kids get help." Barry Dunn, President and CEO of Kosair for Kids, said.
A Silent Messenger statue for Kosair for Kids.
So when Wednesday's storm knocked the child's head off the Silent Messenger, to Dunn, it was a bit symbolic.
"Sometimes the kids that we help fall down, too. And sometimes they experience adversity. And what the community needs to know is: whether it's the statue that fell yesterday or the kids that we help, we're going to lift them back up and make them just as good as new."
The Silent Messenger came to life in 1970 when a photographer snapped a picture of a Shriner who picked up 5-year-old Bobbi Jo Wright, who was having trouble using her crutches on a gravel parking lot. The girl had cerebral palsy.
"My first interaction as a dad with Kosair for Kids was in January 2013 when I learned that my son, Conner, had cerebral palsy. And that was a hard day," Dunn said. "It was a hard diagnosis."
Kosair for Kids helped Dunn's family with medical expenses.
"I frankly did well in school and had a great job and all that, but it gets expensive," Dunn said.
Conner is 11, and the impact of Kosair for Kids is long-lasting on his family. Dunn is now the President and CEO.
Kosair for Kids President and CEO Barry Dunn with his family.
"We exist to help kids," Dunn said. "We exist to lift them up and to carry them from once place to another and make sure that they get the treatment they need."
Kosair for Kids said they'll replace the Silent Messenger but even without it, their commitment to kids around the area remains strong.
"When I see a Silent Messenger, what goes through my mind is love, joy, it's hope for the future. I know that we here at Kosair for Kids has built a special relationship with an organization that believes in the same things that we do. That every kid deserves life changing medical care. that every kid should grow up in a home without abuse or neglect. That every child deserves to have the food they need on the table; and we are doing our part here at Kosair for Kids to make sure that happens. We are just proud the Louisville community has partnered with us for so many years to make it a reality," Dunn said.
To learn more about the area's 25 Silent Messengers, click here.
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