Random Act of Kid-ness: Cooper’s House
This week’s Random Act of Kid-ness comes from Central Kentucky, home of our Museum Director, Julee Brooks. Read what Julee has to say about Cooper’s house below:
I was completely inspired by this story of a 3 year old little boy in Lexington, KY who is (along with a supportive family and neighbors and the power of Facebook) building awareness about the lives of families and their children who have special needs and about the fundamental power of play in every child’s development.
Cooper Veloudis’s family, by his therapist’s request, built a playhouse in their backyard for him to play and practice life skills that are challenging to a child with Cerebral Palsy. Due to at least one neighbor complaint, the neighborhood HOA asked the family to remove it and levied fines until they did. Cooper’s mother, Tiffiney, took the story public and within a week, a Facebook page in support of the little house garnered almost 6,000 fans and the story received significant media attention locally and nationally. The HOA has delayed a final decision until January but what’s already amazing is this little boy and his playful spirit’s incredible ability to unite a neighborhood, a community (and supporters as far as SoCal) and bring attention to the needs of thousands of other children as well.
I for one hope Cooper gets to keep his house – and that every child has a place to play that they feel is their own.
Julee Brooks
Museum Director
For more information about Cooper’s House, visit the Facebook page.
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“Once you begin to acknowledge random acts of kindness – both the ones you have received and the ones you have given – you can no longer believe that what you do does not matter.” -Dawna Markova
