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In August, the Nicholasville Fire Department started a fundraising campaign for a Safe Haven Baby Box to be installed at one of its stations. Thanks to a $4,000 donation from Saint Luke’s Catholic Church, the fundraiser is complete, and the county will soon have its box.

This final check brings the church’s total donation for the fundraiser to $7,200, which allowed the fire department to meet the $16,000 mark to purchase and install the box.

This sum was generated by the 300 families who make up this church’s parish. This includes the church’s women’s group and the men’s group called the Knights of Columbus.

The treasurer of the Knights of Columbus, Steve Sheiko, said, “It’s been a good partnership” between the fire department and the church and that “A whole lot of people in the parish are excited about this.”

Matt Moore, Superintendent of Jessamine County Schools and president of the Church’s Parish Counsel, has been a part of this church for about 40 years.

“I’ll just say, obviously, with our Catholic faith, pro-life is very important to us, and we had three different groups: our parishioners as a whole, the Knights of Columbus, and the Women’s Group all recognizing the value of this opportunity. I also loved how our conversation continued to ensure the child is taken care of and that the parents who are giving up their child are feeling supported as well since we know it’s a time in their lives when they’re facing lots of challenges. We want to give them some hope in that process, too. So I think that was a way for us to donate to protect life,” Moore said.

According to Moore, The baby box will include a message for the parents coming to drop off a child.

Nicholasville Fire Department Deputy Chief Josh Bolton was the one who made this fundraiser happen, and so the church presented the check to him directly.

Bolton said the box had been delivered before Thanksgiving, and he expects it to be installed at the Brannon Road Fire Department by the end of December. He said this timeline depends on contractors’ availability to install the box.