Caring Police Officer Takes Heartbroken 8-Year-Old To Father-Daughter Dance After Her Dad Passed

Sep 02, 2022 by apost team

Over the period of being a student, many children get to experience once-in-a-lifetime moments and get to enjoy spending time with their friends and family members. One of the events that most children especially look forward to is the annual school dance. Some schools even have extra dances for special occasions, like a father-daughter dance or dance just for a specific grade level.

Every little girl dreams of going to the daddy-daughter dance with her dad, and 8-year-old Avey Cox from Arkansas was no exception. Tragically, this dream was taken away from her when her father passed away in January 2020. But the kindness of her community, in the form of her school police resource officer, meant that she didn't have to miss the dance, as he accompanied her in 2020.

Avey, who attended an elementary school in Van Buren, Arkansas, had been looking forward to her dad accompanying her to the dance. Little did she know that school police resource officer, Nick Harvey, was looking for someone to take to the dance after an incentive from the local police chief to take out kids without fathers. Harvey told TODAY Parents that he "couldn’t help but feel a little sad" when he saw posters advertising the dad-daughter dance.

When he spoke to the school about this, they immediately mentioned Avey to him. The little girl had worried that she wouldn’t be able to go after her dad’s passing and was sad that she would miss out on such a special night. Keep reading to learn more about how one police resource officer helped make an 8-year-old’s dream of attending the school dance come true.

Harvey first asked Avey's mom, then asked Avey if he could take her to the dance — and the little girl was overjoyed! “I reached out to the mother,” he told KFSM. “The last thing I wanted was to get rejected by a second-grader, and then the next day I formally asked if she’d be my date to the daddy-daughter dance.”

Avey was over the moon and happily agreed, finding a fun way to make sure their outfits coordinated with one another. “Every time I saw her at school, she’d remind me of how many days it was until the dance,” Harvey revealed to TODAY Parents. Speaking with KFSM, Avey said, “I was excited because I never went and I had been wanting to go.”

The dance itself was extremely enjoyable for both Avey and Harvey. They even rode in a limo together to get pizza before the dance started!

At the end of the night, another little girl asked, "Is this your dad?" to which Harvey responded, "Well, tonight I’m her dad." Harvey described this as the best memory of the night. Avey's mom also agreed, admitting to TODAY Parents that “Avey keeps saying it was the best night ever.”

Harvey busted out some moves on the dance floor, although they may not have been professional-worthy. Nonetheless, Avey was grateful to the officer for taking her. “It meant a lot because I got to go and see all my friends there and then I got to go with them and have a lot of fun,” Avey said.

According to KFSM, Harvey made a commitment to Avey that he planned on taking her to the father-daughter dance every year since.

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The generosity of this school police resource officer will no doubt warm your heart. Were you inspired by his act of kindness? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your loved ones, too.