Students donate toys in honor of friend killed by suspected drunk driver

BEREA, Ky. (WTVQ) – Two Berea College students are giving back in honor of a friend who lost her life to a suspected drunk driver.

Jessi Adams and Isabella Gormanson collected more than 500 toys for the Christian Appalachian Project’s Grateful Threadz thrift store in Mt. Vernon.

“These toys come at a much-needed time,” says Sherri Barnett, manager of the thrift store. “Their generosity will bless many children in Central Appalachia this Christmas. We are grateful that they chose to partner with Christian Appalachian Project to impact families during the holidays.”

The donations were dropped off to the thrift store on Giving Tuesday.

Adams and Gormanson, who are both students in Child and Family Studies at Berea College, donated the toys in honor of their friend, 22-year-old BriAnna Cowden, who died in early November after being involved in a head-on collision with a suspected drunk driver.

The two will be distributing toys with Santa on Saturday, December 2 from 11 a.m. to noon.