WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — A small ceremony took place inside the Luzerne County Courthouse, honoring two citizens.
"Do hereby honor and thank Donnie Evans and Abby Lovallo for their commitment to others in the community and exemplifying what it means to care," said Matthew Vough, Luzerne County Councilman.
Over the last three years, Donnie Evans of Forty Fort has raised more than $100,000 through a Skate with a Cop fundraiser to buy protective shields for police officers all over Luzerne county.
Abby Lovallo is 11-years-old and helped raise $3,000 of those dollars for shields for her officers in Nanticoke by knocking on doors and asking for donations.
"They would say, of course, to help out the town," Lovallo said.
Lovallo says she never thought she'd raise that much.
"I was like, wow, I didn't expect a lot of people to help and to, like, help me out. I was just really surprised," she said.
Evans says he was honored when he found out someone like Abby wanted to help out.
"When she called me when her mother called me said, 'Could you be a part of Skate with a Cop to raise money?' Absolutely. This is what we need, and this is what we want in Luzerne County, to help law enforcement and throughout the nation," he said.
Evans says it's thanks to many people in the community that all the money has been raised, especially during the pandemic when alternatives to the annual skating event at a rink near Wilkes-Barre had to take place.
But he says when it's time, the event will come back bigger and better than ever.