Brighten Your Day

Stranger Sends Little Girl A Letter And Gifts From Her 'Daddy In Heaven'

May 26, 2022

A stranger's act of kindness helped a family in need more than they could ever have imagined.

Milan / Credit: KDKA 2

Tami Avolia lost her son, Travis, in a shooting in 2017 one week after learning he was expecting a baby girl.

"He didn't just take my son. He took my best friend. He took his daughter's daddy away. She never got to meet him," Avolia told KDKA News. "A week before, we were celebrating the gender reveal party. He was so excited he was having a little girl."

Avolia wanted to do something special to celebrate her son's birthday with his now 4-year-old daughter, Milan. She released a 'Happy Birthday' balloon into the sky and attached a note to the string from his daughter.

Credit: KDKA 2

"She wrote a note to him, and I translated it and it says, "Happy birthday, daddy. I love you. I miss you. And I never wanted you to go away. Happy Birthday. Baby girl," Avolia said.

But what happened next is something Avolia said she and her family never expected.

"A couple of days later, I went to the mailbox and I started pulling the box out and saw that it was from 'Daddy in heaven' to 'Baby Girl' and just started crying," Avolia said.

Credit: KDKA 2

A postal worker in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, told KDKA-TV that a woman found the balloon at her home and took a package to mail back to the family a few days later, addressed to "Baby girl" from "Dad."

Inside the package was a note that read "I love your birthday present. Thank you so much. Daddy loves you and Mommy so much and you all. Here's a present that I made just for you. Hope you like them."

Credit: KDKA 2

Also inside were three handmade Christmas ornaments.

"They are Christmas tree ornaments, and I am sending you a kiss from heaven. Snowflakes are kisses from heaven. I love you so much. Daddy," the letter said.

Credit: KDKA 2

"To see the smile on her face when she got her gift from daddy in heaven was priceless," Avolia said.

"After what I went through, I lost faith in people. They brought it back. I just want to thank you, whoever it is. I want to thank you."

Credit: KDKA 2