For one Polson girl, it's a 'blue Christmas'
Charlotte Kinnamon, 11, stands with her law enforcement friends, pictured left to right, Lake County Detention Officer Chris Brasch, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Fernando Venegas, and Lake County Detention Officer Dalton Molzhon. (Photo courtesy of Cassey Kinnamon)
Charlotte Kinnamon, a fifth-grader at Polson Middle School, has a tradition of passing out cards to first responders. This year, her cards will go as far as Washington, D.C., in the states, while bundles go to soldiers overseas. (Photo courtesy of Cassey Kinnamon)
Pictured left to right are Montana Highway Patrol Troopers Wayne Bieber and Noah Pesola, Charlotte Kinnamon, and Troopers Tony Isbell and Jeremy Lee. (Photo courtesy of Cassey Kinnamon)
Lake County Search and Rescue volunteers were hand-delivered cards from Charlotte Kinnamon during a recent barbecue fundraiser for the organization. (Photo courtesy of Cassey Kinnamon) Lake County
After an early morning, Charlotte Kinnamon slowly grabbed a piece of pizza, her eyes heavy.
The 11-year-old woke up before 7 a.m. last Thursday to head from her cozy bed in Polson down to Missoula to be interviewed for a feature a local news segment that aired later that night.
She’s garnered media attention this year for her annual tradition of handing out Christmas cards to first responders.
While most people are anxious to have celebrity, Charlotte is unsure how she feels about it.
Sure, she was able to get out of class for a little bit, but having to get up early and still finish the school day, squeeze in homework and find time to hand-deliver a bundle of cards to the Polson VFW made for a long day.
She perked up when she saw a couple of Montana Highway Patrol troopers, her friends, stop in at The Cove in Polson, where she was sitting down, fitting in an interview between dinner and the VFW meeting.
CHARLOTTE, a fifth-grader at Polson Middle School, explained that she and her grandmother, Patti Kinnamon, have been handing out cards for several years.
“We just wanted to do something” for emergency responders in Flathead County, Charlotte said, where she, her grandmother, and Charlotte’s mother, Cassey, lived until last year.
The first person in Lake County to receive a card from Charlotte was Lake County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Fernando Venegas.
He said that Charlotte’s ambition to recognize emergency personnel is unique for a youth.
“She’s in a league of her own,” he said, adding that there just isn’t a word that describes Charlotte’s goodwill.
Charlotte said one of her favorite parts of the process is watching the first responders’ faces when they open a card from her.
Some of the cards are handmade by Charlotte, while others have been donated.
This year, Cassey estimates that more than 6,500 cards will be handed out, including a box of 103 cards to the Walter Reid Center in Washington, D.C., and more that will go overseas to military members called to active duty.
Usually, Charlotte said she begins making the cards and signing them in November, but this year she began in October.
Cassey added that when Charlotte’s friends have been to their house, they’ve even joined in on the project, addressing or filling out cards.
To help pay for the cause, Charlotte and Cassey decided to set up a fundraiser with an original goal of $600 to go toward postage for the bundles of cards that can’t be hand-delivered.
“We were really blessed. We hit our goal within three days,” Cassey said.
As oF press time Tuesday, $945 had been raised.
Any amount over the original goal will go toward getting more cards to destinations.
Once Charlotte makes sure her friends in Montana get their cards, she is sending more to first responders that have been working since the deadly Camp Fire in Paradise, California, raged last month.
Cassey explained that Charlotte passes out cards personally to local groups.
She calls the departments beforehand to find out how many cards should be bundled and labeled.
Charlotte, Cassey said, tries not to leave anyone out.
She makes sure that in addition to law enforcement, fire departments, EMTs, search and rescue volunteers and dispatchers receive cards, too.
Venegas said the respect Charlotte gives, regardless of what they do, is “neat.”
“You don’t see people at her age with an appreciation for first responders,” he said.
Cassey said sometimes when she calls some departments to see if they’d like to receive the sign of appreciation, they decline, which she and Charlotte agree is OK.
Although she has a lot of first responder friends, Charlotte is taking her time with deciding what she wants to be someday.
“Maybe a medic,” she said, or perhaps “an artist or own her own bakery.”
Until she figures it out, she’ll continue thanking first responders along the way.
To make a donation toward Charlotte’s project, contact her mother, Cassey Kinnamon, through Facebook.