Gift wrapped in kindness
By Brandon Davis
Published in News on October 14, 2016 3:50 PM
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Shy'Miya McGee, 7, unwraps a blue 'Frozen' robe at her surprise birthday party thrown for her at Carver Heights Elementary school. The girl's family is being sheltered there after being displaced by Hurricane Matthew.
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Leighanne Stokes, 14, left, holds the hand of Shy'Miya McGee, 7, as they walk to Shy'Miya's surprise birthday party in the cafeteria at Carver Heights Elementary School. Employees of the Sam's Club in Goldsboro paid out of their own pockets for gifts for Shy'mia after hearing it was her birthday from Lt. Phillip Stokes of the Salvation Army
All Shy'Miya McGee wanted for her birthday was a party.
And that's what the 7-year-old got on Friday when a teenager at the shelter befriended her.
"It kind of broke my heart when she told me it was her birthday, and she was going to spend it at a shelter," Leighanne Stokes, 14, said.
Leighanne met Shy'Miya at the American Red Cross Shelter set up at Carver Heights Elementary School.
"I felt like I needed to do something."
Shy'Miya and her mother, Shynee McGee, arrived at the school Thursday -- the day Shy'Miya turned seven.
She asked her mother if they could go back home to have a party with her friends, but Ms. McGee said they would celebrate her birthday on a later date.
Ms. McGee said she lost power at her house on Day Circle the night Hurricane Matthew hit Wayne County, and she was told power would not return until Sunday.
Shy'Miya walked around the shelter to find something to do, and that's when she saw Leighanne Stokes.
Shy'Miya asked her if she wanted to play.
She and Leighanne colored pictures, read books and played on the school's playground, but Leighanne's father, Lt. Phillip Stokes with the Salvation Army of Goldsboro, was looking for his daughter.
Stokes said Leighanne refused to leave because she wanted to keep playing with Shy'Miya. He asked Leighanne if she needed her cell phone.
Leighanne said no.
"To me, a 14-year-old now a days, to say, 'No, I don't need it. I'm going to spend time with this little girl,' that was amazing," Stokes said, who arrived with his wife, Lt. Sherrie Stokes, and other volunteers with the Salvation Army Tuesday to feed the shelter.
He said his daughter informed him of Shy'Miya's birthday that night.
Stokes drove to Sam's Club the next morning to purchase biscuits for the shelter, but employees quickly asked him to tell stories about the community when they saw him wearing a Salvation Army uniform.
He told them about Shy'Miya.
The Sam's Club employees didn't waste a minute. They bought a chocolate cake, clothes, toys and a baby doll with their own money, Stokes said.
"As I went out the door, I heard, 'Hold up. Every little girl needs balloons for their birthday.' So they went and blew me up seven balloons," he said.
Stokes, his wife and his daughter set up the school's cafeteria with presents and the chocolate cake.
Leighanne walked to the shelter to get Shy'Mia who knew nothing about the party.
Shy'Mia walked in the cafeteria and looked at the presents on the table.
She smiled.
The Stokes, Ms. McGee, her mother Edna McGee and other Salvation Army employees and volunteers sang "Happy Birthday" to Shy'Miya.
The 7-year-old tore colorful paper off of boxes, and she smiled more when she saw an Elsa baby doll from the movie, "Frozen." She opened a box of crayons and coloring books.
She then opened a bag.
Shy'Miya pulled out a red dress and a blue "Frozen" bathrobe, and she held them up to her shoulders for Leighanne to see.
"It means a lot," Ms. McGee said as she wiped away tears.
"She just wanted a party."