A mother’s tribute to her late son, a devoted Oklahoma City Thunder fan, has taken on a new life. Thousands of ‘Love, Stone’ basketballs that were placed in yards across Nichols Hills are now being donated to children across the state.
A Tribute to Stone
Kimberly Hiddleston, the mother of Stone, who died last year from a fentanyl overdose, started the tribute during the Thunder’s playoff run. She wrote ‘Love, Stone’ on the basketballs and placed them on lawns, watching as the tribute spread across the state.
The basketballs are now being donated to Cleats for Kids, a youth sports nonprofit that provides new and gently used equipment to children for free. The donation will help ensure that every child who wants to play basketball has access to the necessary equipment.
‘You can just imagine the faces of all the children that are going to have balls all summer long,’ Hiddleston said. ‘It is going to really, truly change children’s lives,’ added Stacy McDaniel, executive director of Cleats for Kids.
The donation will not only provide equipment to children but also help raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl. ‘You can’t help but ask, what does ‘Love, Stone’ mean? And what is ‘Love, Stone?’ And then for people to be able to inquire about that and learn — and learn about the dangers of fentanyl — and just raise that awareness,’ McDaniel said.
Original reporting: Oklahoma City News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
