Kentucky 9-year-old Kaylei Miller lost her father Sunday night in a car accident. According to a GoFundMe page set up for the family, the dad did not have life insurance and the family does not have funds for funeral expenses. That's when Miller decided to host a bake sale.
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"I just wanted to raise money so we could have a funeral for my dad," Miller said.
On Wednesday, she spent the day in the kitchen, with help from her family, baking tons of sweets.
The 9-year-old made a red velvet cake with bright pink frosting and sprinkles. She also made brownies, cookies and popcorn.
News of the bake sale quickly spread through social media and word of mouth, sending people to the Fairdale Dairy Queen on Thursday, where Kaylei had her goods set up for sale.
The entire community came out to support Miller. There was a long line of cars waiting to buy the baked goods.
One generous couple, Jack and Debbie, purchased two chocolate chip cookies for $1,000.
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"The pandemic won't stop us from caring about other people," Jack said. "As my wife said, she lost her father when she was in the fourth grade and still remembers what it was like. We knew the kind of pain the young lady was going through and we wanted to help."
The family said the support is overwhelming.
"It's amazing that the community came together in a time of need from hearing Kaylei's story and just wanting to help from all over," Shalena Barton, Miller's aunt said. "Just like her daddy. She's an entrepreneur. He was all about making money and doing whatever it took to take care of his family."
Kaylei said her dad was everything to her and she's grateful for all of the people who showed up to donate and buy her baked goods. "Just grateful," Kaylei said. "I cried yesterday because of all the people who actually cared."
As of Friday, the GoFundMe had raised over $13,000.