NFL player brings young girl to daddy-daughter dance after her father suddenly passes
You never know who will surprise you with their kindness.
When a mom navigating a year of grief tried to give her daughter a night to remember, she had no clue that the person she reached out to for help would go so far above and beyond.
Audrey Soape, aged 11, dealt with a lot of grief in one year.
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First, her father passed away suddenly. Five weeks after that, her grandfather passed away.
It was a very tough year, and she was trying to deal with it as best as she could.
With the daddy-daughter dance coming up, she had no one to take her.
Audrey’s mom, Holly, knew that this event felt like another reminder of what her daughter was missing.
She wanted to help mitigate the pain as much as possible and make the event something that could still be special.
So she turned to social media to get the attention of Philadelphia Eagles safety Anthony Harris.
He is Audrey’s favorite NFL player, and Holly asked him if he could escort her daughter to the dance.
To Holly’s surprise, Anthony Harris responded!
Anthony Harris agreed to be Audrey’s date to the dance. It was a last-minute plan, so pulling all the pieces together was a lot of work. Holly says:
“I told him about the situation, and surprisingly he was more than willing to do it…It happened really fast. He said yes probably about a week before, so it was kind of a whirlwind.”
So, Holly set to work setting up a special surprise for her daughter.
The Eagles’ safety went above and beyond for his date.
Even before he showed up to surprise Audrey in a suit and tie, he went much farther than Holly expected him to go for her daughter.
He paid for everything the girl would need to feel special on the night: dress, shoes, hair and makeup, he had it covered.
The athlete even ordered a driver and a car and picked her up from the Soape’s house.
He was dedicated to making Audrey feel special.
Anthony Harris helped make this girl’s night one she will remember for the rest of her life, and it helped to shine a light in her life during a very difficult time.
Audrey ended up having a wonderful night.
Although she was nervous around her favorite NFL player at first, he helped set her at ease, and they had a great time.
She’s really grateful for him, saying:
“A normal player would probably be like ‘I don’t have time for this. I have to be focused for next season or the playoffs,’ …But he took time out of his schedule to take me, so that was pretty special.”
For his part, Anthony Harris is also glad he was able to attend the dance and take a special girl on a special date.
In addition to having a great night with Audrey, doing kind acts like this fits into Anthony’s philosophy on life and caring for others.
He tells CBS Philly:
“You gotta cherish these moments. You never know how long we have here on this Earth…So, the people that you care about and you love, show support for them.”
Watch the video below to learn more about this very special dance!
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Source: NBC 10 Philadelphia, CBS Philly, My Positive Outlooks