ASHTABULA, Ohio — Nearly a dozen Ashtabula County families just received a much-needed helping hand amid the pandemic.
Angela Kendall founded the Kendall Foundation last fall. In just six short months she's raised more than $200,000. Kendall said she'd always dreamed about launching a 501c3 and called this her perfect opportunity.
"We had to think outside the box and I love my community so much and I just really wanted to figure out a way to give back," Kendall said.
Kendall said all of the fundraising is done online and via social media. So when she reached a point where there was enough money to donate, she thought back to the daycare center she used when her children were young, the ABC Child Care and Learning Center.
"I struggled in the beginning and I just know what it would have felt like if someone came along and just wiped the slate clean for me," she said.
So she wiped the slate clean for 11 other families.
Kendall paid off overdue payments for 11 families at the daycare center and she even set them up for a few more months. Her donation totaled about $16,000.
Zachary McEndree is a single father of two who was on the receiving end of Kendall's generosity. He said it only took one letter explaining his situation.
"They paid my past due balance, which was like $500, and they also provided me with an additional 12 weeks," he said. "It was just basically my story, you know? How I'm a single father of two and how times have gotten tough."
He said the donation was a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.
"It's been a very trying time not just for me but for many people, and to get any sort of help like that was... it warmed my heart and brought a tear to my eye. A happy tear."
Kendall said she has more plans for her foundation, including a fundraiser for local children's hospitals.
