A child's get-well gesture to Eli Kulp
A Center City preschooler empties her piggybank to support the chef.
They say charity begins at home. It also begins at a tender age.
Aava, age 4½, lives in Center City with her parents.
They attended the recent fund-raiser at Fork restaurant on behalf of chef Eli Kulp, who was paralyzed in the May Amtrak train wreck.
Aava asks a lot of questions. Her mother said she wanted to know what a fundraiser is and why they were attending this particular one. Aava has dined at Kulp's restaurants - High Street on Market and Fork - and even had a little exchange with Kulp one day, said her mother, who asked that the family's name be withheld for privacy.
"We told her that Eli has been in an accident and cannot move," the mom said. "The fundraiser is going to raise money to help him get better and for him to come back."
A few days after the event, Aava told her mother: "Mommy, I know what I want to do with my piggybank money. I want to give it to Eli and write him a note and draw him a picture to help him get better."
The drawing is on its way, and the little girl's $9 was donated to Kulp's GoFundMe account.