Clark County community honors four-year-old through cake boxes
On September 15th, 2018, Marco was waiting to cross the street after a UK football game with his family, when he was struck by a car.
WINCHESTER, Ky (WTVQ)- Four-year-old Marco Shemwell was known for his giving heart.
“He was just like full of life, ya know, so much personality packed into a little four-year-old’s body,” said Ben Shemwell, Marco’s father.
“Batman was his favorite superhero. And if you asked him why Batman of all superheroes, he would say because he helps people,” said Liz Shemwell, Marco’s mother.
On September 15th, 2018, Marco was waiting to cross the street after a UK football game with his family, when he was struck by a car.
“Unfortunately, his injuries were unsurvivable, he passed away a few days later,” said Liz.
Following the tragedy, Marco’s parents received a lot of support from the community. So they wanted to come up with a way to pay that generosity forward, in Marco’s honor.
The Shemwells say Marco loved birthdays. So they came up with a way to honor him by making sure other kids had a chance to celebrate their birthdays, as well. They decided to pack boxes filled with usual cake ingredients to give to Clark County’s students.
“We thought that maybe we could get some friends together, pack a few birthday boxes with cake mix, frosting, candles, a card and a toy.We were hoping to get a couple hundred boxes, that we could give to the schools and the children in the community. When we posted it on Facebook, we got so many responses from the community that the first year we did this, we filled a thousand boxes in an hour,” said Liz.
Overtime, more community members got involved. They now put together thousands of cake boxes every year.
The tradition continued Sunday at Winchester First Church of God. Dozens of volunteers came out to help in their mission.
“We’ve had some families who, unfortunately, weren’t able to give a birthday party to their child and this birthday box lets them do that,” said Liz.
The Marco Shemwell Foundation now spreads awareness and safety.
It also continues to create positive change in honor of a little boy whose smile could light up the world.
To learn more about the Foundation or the cake box project, click here.
