11-year-old fundraises for family contractor following devastating theft

SEATTLE — “I kind of think of us like really good friends,” says 11-year-old Keita Shoecraft referring to his family’s contractor, Cortez Graham.

Now, the two’s friendship is even stronger, following a devastating crime.

“When you lose everything, it’s kind of tough,” said Graham.

Tuesday night, after doing work at Keita’s house in South Seattle, Graham pulled into a Safeway parking lot in White Center to get something to eat.

Just 30 minutes later, Graham says, “I came out – truck, trailer, everything... gone. I would say in the neighborhood of easily $25,000 to $30,000 worth of tools in there.”

Graham believes thieves in a truck followed him into the parking lot.

His truck and trailer were later found ransacked – all his tools are still missing.

Police are now investigating.

When Keita found out what happened, he decided to set up a GoFundMe account to help his friend, along with a heartfelt message.

“Quite frankly, it brought me to tears. It was very humbling,” said Graham.

As you can imagine, Keita’s parents are also pretty proud of his efforts.

“One of his superpowers and his gifts is his heart and his compassion for people and it was just a beautiful example of his care for people,” said Anthony Shoecraft, Keita’s father.

“Makes me feel happy, like grateful to actually have this chance to do my part in this,” said Keita.

©2024 Cox Media Group