New nonprofit in Oldham County hopes to help local vets, children in need
There's a new nonprofit in Oldham County dedicated to helping veterans and children in need.
It's called 'Be like Griff', named after Daniel Griffith, a 39-year-old Crestwood army veteran who was killed in a car accident on I-71 in December 2021.
Investigators determined that traffic had stopped on the interstate for an unknown reason. While traffic was stopped, a box truck failed to stop, striking a Nissan Rouge SUV. That crash caused the SUV to also crash into the back of a tractor-trailer.
Griffith was the driver of the SUV.
It was at that time his mom, Laura Criswell, promised herself she would never let her son's name be forgotten. She then began working to create the nonprofit.
"A soldier is only dead and gone when you stop saying his name," Criswell said. "Failure is not an option, this boy is going to live on until I don't live on."
After getting 501(c)(3) certification just last week, on Saturday Criswell's newly created nonprofit held its first-ever "Danny Day", a fundraising event for the veterans and children in Oldham County who need a helping hand.
"We are wanting to help with anything," Criswell said. "Whether it be a pair of shoes, whether it be a ramp, clothes. We want to help with any unmet need."
Reason being, it's exactly what her son would've done.
"When he came home from Afghanistan, he lost so many guys," Criswell said. "He was a sergeant and he lost so many guys that he felt he didn't have a right to be alive. So because of that, he did stuff for free, whether it be painting someone's house, or even building a fence."
According to Criswell, Griffith died on the way to class at U of L, where he was studying to be a mental health counselor for families in Oldham County.
She said whether it was serving his country, helping his daughter or providing aid to a community member, Griffith spent his whole life helping people, and now this new organization is working to do the same.
"How can I help?" Criswell said. "We have it written on the back of our shirt. It's not just something that we say, this is something that he did, and so we want to too. We want to be like Griff, and help you with whatever you need."
Criswell said she plans to make the event an annual one.
She hopes to have another fundraiser sometime this winter.