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For the twelfth year, Danica King, also known as Princess, is giving the gift of Christmas to 46 Jessamine County kids, with ages ranging from nine months old to 17 years old.

King is a consultant for Zaxby’s in Nicholasville, but her big holiday giving event called Princess’s Angels is a year-long effort that may as well be her separate part-time job. Throughout the year, King collects donations from the community.

Whatever King raises through the restaurant’s patrons and community members, the owner of Zaxby’s, Sandy Adams, matches. This year, $7500 was raised.

“That’s how we’re successful every year because every donation that is made is matched.” King said.”  I’ll have people tell me ‘Hey, we know what you’re doing, and we want to help; here’s $400. And I’m donating to you because I know it gets matched, and we’re going help even more kids.’”

“I’m just making sure Christmas is happening for these kids,” King said.

King works directly with the family resource center with Jessamine County Schools as a majority of the children she gives to come from the school system. Although each child gets a few things from their wishlist like Barbies, Monster High dolls, Hot Wheels, and Kegos, King’s main focus is necessities like quality, long-lasting warm clothing for the winter.

Each kid gets one full outfit with socks and underwear. Almost all 46 got a pair of shoes, too. Around three children are also being given winter coats.

With the giddiness of a child on Christmas morning, King described the scene of her parents’ basement, where she does all the organizing of the gifts.

“You should have seen it,” she said. “I had my shoes stacked in towers and out of the three stacks, two of them touched the ceiling. It looked cool.”

“No one is any better at bargain hunting than Danica. She’s always getting the best deal for the price so she can maybe get more than what they’re asking for,” Adams.

With three young sons, a firefighter husband and a consulting job at Zaxby’s, King has her plate full, but Adams says she always takes time for Princess’s Angels and does an “excellent job.”

“We just always had a bond. She’s really like a daughter. I think that if the phone rings and I need her and she needs me, we’re gonna be there for each other. Nobody tries any harder. She is definitely a giver of the heart, a true giver of the heart, and that’s what Christmas is all about,” Adams said.