Deputies volunteer to landscape cancer patient's yard
Courtesy: Lt. Nicole Minick/Collier County Sheriff's Office
NAPLES, Fla. (FOX 13) - Deputies in southwest Florida volunteered to help spruce up a cancer patient's backyard in order to give her a peaceful place to enjoy the outdoors.
The Collier County Sheriff's Office said Cpl. Dean Peck went to bring flowers to a family friend who is battling an aggressive form of cancer.
Peck left the woman's house with the feeling that he wanted to do more to raise her spirits.
Knowing that one of her favorite pastimes was sitting in her yard to enjoy nature, he decided he wanted to spruce up the area for her and mentioned it to his coworker, Sgt. John Gogia.
Gogia not only offered to help, he also spread the word to friends and colleagues at the sheriff's office.
On Saturday, 15 volunteers -- nine of whom work for the sheriff's office -- visited the home with a pressure washer and 100 bags of mulch they purchased.
The group spent nearly four hours turning the yard into a "virtual oasis," the agency said. They also pressure washed her house and the brick pavers in her yard.
Residents praised the sheriff's office for going "above and beyond" for the woman.
"A little kindness goes such a long way," one person commented on their post. "Thank you for helping make her healing space special."