By Adam Smith

The North Jefferson News



Several Wal-Mart truck drivers came together Wednesday to do something special for a special needs child and her family.

Cullman native Phillip Hargrove, a truck driver for Wal-Mart and one of the founders of the Wal-Mart Heart program, joined fellow drivers at the Gardendale Wal-Mart to honor Kailyn, an 8-year-old from Hanceville who has cerebral palsy.

Kailyn’s mother, Kelley Belcher, said the drivers and Wal-Mart employees gave her daughter gifts and then took her for a ride in one of the tractor-trailer trucks.

“There were a bunch of people there and it was a pretty big deal,” Belcher said. “It means a lot to me that a big company took part in something like this.”

Hargrove learned about Kailyn and the Belcher family through a Cullman-based charity event called Hunt for a Lifetime, which offers special needs children and young adults the chance to hunt and fish.

Kailyn was nominated by Cullman business owners, one of which was a friend of Hargrove’s, to be honored at the Hunt for a Lifetime event. When the truck drivers of Wal-Mart Heart wanted to do something nice for another child and family, Kailyn came to mind.

Wal-Mart Heart’s mission is to celebrate special needs or severely ill children while offering support to their families, Hargrove said. The inspiration for the group was hatched more than 10 years ago when an Alabama cancer patient was in Texas for treatment. The child had to stay awake for testing, so his family took him to Wal-Mart.

“The manager let him go through the store and play with toys and ride bikes,” Hargrove said. “He saw the (delivery) trucks and fell in love with them. When he graduated from kindergarten, he said he wanted to be a Wal-Mart truck.”

The store manager at the Temple, Tex., Wal-Mart arranged for the child to have his first ride in a tractor-trailer truck. The child was also given a truck driver’s uniform.

“He was only supposed to live for 80 days, but we’re going to celebrate his 19th birthday in November,” Hargrove said.

Four years ago, he and five other drivers officially formed the group and now travel to different towns and participate in parties for special needs or severely ill children. The group has participated in three events at the Cullman store.

“I like the fact that they allow us to do stuff like this,” Hargrove said of Wal-Mart. “The drivers who get involved make a change in a child’s life and it makes a change in the drivers.”

Wal-Mart manager Christine Gutowski said last week that Wednesday’s party was the first time the store had hosted a Wal-Mart Heart event. However, the store has been involved in helping special needs children on a local level. Store employees built a garden at the Miracle League Field at Luman Harris Park in Gardendale.

“This definitely plays into the Miracle League work we’ve done,” Gutowski said. “She’s (Kailyn) is just a wonderful little girl and she’s going to be a princess for a day.”

Kelley Belcher and her husband Thomas Belcher are from north Jefferson County originally, but moved to Hanceville two years ago.

In addition to Kailyn, the couple has three other children. However, Kelley Belcher said her 8-year-old daughter’s needs occupy most of her time.

Kailyn, who was nicknamed “Monkey” by her family, can’t feed herself, walk or talk. She’s also wheelchair-bound and cannot be left alone.

“It’s like taking care of a baby,” she said. “She’s happy and laughing all the time, but very co-dependent. She gets upset if you walk into another room, so I usually have to hold her while I’m cooking or doing something else.”

Despite the difficulties of raising a special needs child, Belcher said Kailyn is a very special child who makes the family complete. She was overwhelmed by the generosity showed to her family by Wal-Mart drivers and employees on Wednesday.

“It’s good to know that in times like now, there are still good people out there,” Belcher said. “It gives you a look at life that not everything out there is bad.”