A seven-year-old who lost her home to one of California’s fires held a toy drive for children in need.
Seven-year-old Sophia Novotny and her family suddenly lost their Agoura Hills home after the lesser-known “Woolsey Fire” destroyed the area located just north of LA.
Sophia’s mother, April Novotny, told ABC-7, “very quickly she realized their things were gone.” Although the family was devastated by the catastrophic event, the extraordinary seven-year-old began to make plans to help other children that were impacted by the disaster.
“The day that we lost the house,” April said, ‘Let’s get some toys for the other kids who have lost their houses.”
On Sunday, the second-grader held the “Sophia’s Wishes” toy drive in Thousand Oaks. The event proved to be a great success, and hundreds of toys were delivered to children from the area who, like Sophia, lost everything in the fire. The toy drive, which was held in partnership with a local business, RadNet, brought in hundreds of guests who were excited to help out.
The seven-year-old said, quote, “I know how it feels to lost your things,”
Sophia caught the attention of the Ventura County Fire Department, firefighters wrote on Facebook:
“Instead of crying, Sophia organized a toy drive for the other children who lost everything. Her event not only got toys to 4 families but also generated 1,000’s of toys for the Spark Of Love toy drive. She is such an amazing young lady and we are proud to have been a part of something so special.”