Jefferson County Sheriff Deputies To Surprise Local Boy For His Birthday Today

Press release from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office:

April 4, 2020

As residents adhere to social distancing guidelines, one local mom is hoping that her son’s birthday will still be special this year. To ensure that it’s a birthday that he will never forget the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office will be showing up for a surprise birthday parade that will be sure to leave a unique mark on Zaiderick Hayes 13th birthday. Sheriff Mark Pettway along with a few deputies plan to surprise Zaiderick today at 4 p.m. for a parade outside his home located at 920 52nd Street North Birmingham, AL 35212.

“I understand that the new social distancing guidelines may be hard for children to grasp, and I’m a firm believer that we must come together as a community to make this a little easier for everyone,” Sheriff Pettway said. “Birthdays are special and this birthday should be no different, so it is my hope that by us showing up today we’ll be able to bring some cheer to Zaiderick and his family.”

Valencia King, Zaiderick’s mom says she is grateful that the Sheriff was so eager to participate in today’s surprise. What started as simple Facebook request, has turned into a full on birthday celebration parade.

“As a mom you know you’re always looking for ways to make your child’s birthday memorable,” Ms. King said. “This year I didn’t know how I was going to make that happen, but I knew that my son loves law enforcement, so I thought maybe I could get them to call him and wish him a Happy Birthday. Sheriff Pettway took it a step further and said we’ll show up and give him a parade, and I was completely floored by the idea.”

Sheriff says he hopes this birthday will go down as the best birthday ever for Zaiderick. Turning 13 is a special occasion and even with social distancing it is to be celebrated as a milestone!

This press release was produced by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. The views expressed here are the author’s own.