Generosity of readers turns story into happy ending

A sad event turned into a happy ending for an Independence 8-year-old, thanks to the generosity of Examiner readers.
When Kaylee Nagy received a $25 gift card for perfect attendence at summer school, she was excited to finally get a chance to buy some new clothes and a pair of shoes.
But Nagy’s excitement was shattered when she lost her card while shopping at Kmart with her two sisters and mom, Lisa.
“It felt really good to get the card,” Kaylee said. “But I felt really bad when I lost it.”
Kaylee’s mother Lisa said the disappointment on Kaylee’s face was apparent, but she tried not to let it get the best of her.
“I was really sad for her,” Lisa said. “She was being a big girl about it but she had a horrified little look on her face.”
The family looked all over the store for nearly two hours trying to find the lost gift card. However, when they went to report it missing, they were told the card had already been spent.
But by that point the family had a cart full of clothes and shoes that each girl selected. To prevent Kaylee from having to put back the clothes she picked out, her sister offered to put the items in layaway using her card until the family could afford to come back and purchase them another time.
Lisa works two jobs to support herself and her three daughters. In the last year, the family has been homeless eight times and lost everything they owned because they couldn’t afford to keep it in storage.
 In January, Lisa’s family helped her rent an apartment, and she’s working her jobs just to keep up with the rent and the bills. It was a relief to Lisa when her daughters received gift cards because it meant one less thing she had to worry about paying for.
After she lost her card, Kaylee wrote a letter to the editor that was published in last weekend’s Examiner. She told readers all she wanted was her $25 gift card back so she could buy new clothes for school. A number of thoughful readers responded to Kaylee’s letter and contacted The Examiner offering to compensate Kaylee for the loss. The donations totaled more than $500 to help her and her family.
“I am very touched,” Lisa said. “Every phone call I made to talk to the people who donated money, I couldn’t help but cry because it touches my heart to know that there are still good-hearted people out there and I appreciate everything they’ve done for us.”
As for Kaylee, she’s just happy to know she can buy herself new clothes and school supplies. With whatever money is left over, she would like to take her family out for a fun day, because that’s something Lisa says, they just can’t afford.
“It feels good,” Kaylee said. “I’m glad those people cared and gave me money. I want to use it to buy clothes and shoes and do something fun with my family.”