Widow Of Collinsville Police Officer Starts Donation Drive For The Child Abuse Network

The family of a Collinsville police officer who died in an off-duty crash last summer is helping bring a little comfort to children who have suffered abuse.

Officer Chad Goodner's family collected nearly 700 stuffed animals and blankets to donate to the Child Abuse Network.

His wife, Gwen said it's her way of keeping Chad's generosity alive.

When Gwen Goodner lost her husband and colleague at Collinsville PD Chad last summer, the community came out to support her wholeheartedly.

But months later a piece of her life, Chad and his generosity, was still missing.

"After the funeral's done, and stuff's packed away and everybody kind of goes back to their normal lives, I found myself with a family looking at me wondering, 'Where do we go from here?'" Gwen said.

With Chad's kind heart and giving spirit in mind, she and her kids started a donation drive for the Child Abuse Network.

"It was wild how many people showed up for us and so to me this was an opportunity to put some of that back out," said Gwen.

The communities of Collinsville, Skiatook and Tulsa showed up in support of Goodner and her family once again.

Weeks went by and hundreds of donations came in. Gwen said it's exactly what Chad would've wanted.

"I'm trying to teach my kids how to grieve while I learn how to grieve so it was important to me to start a new tradition," Gwen said.

The Child Abuse Network said it's enough to stock its comfort closet for five months.