KENT COUNTY, Mich — Sawyer Hendrickson is busy working to send thousands of stockings to service members overseas; but this holiday season she's also getting a special surprise of her own-- from the Detroit Lions.
On Sunday, December 5th, Hendrickson traveled to Ford Field to watch the Lions game, where she was surprised with two tickets to the Super Bowl.
"I just, I was shocked. Really? It was a crazy thing to earn. And it was really, really cool," said Hendrickson. "It was really, really surprising."
Heather Hendrickson, Sawyer's mom, said the 12-year-old was selected as the NFL Salute to Service Person for the Lions last year; but due to COVID, she wasn't able to make the game.
This year's game more than made up for it.
Not only did Sawyer get to catch the team's first win of the season, she was also called onto the field and recognized for all her efforts to pay it forward to veterans and military members.
Sawyer plans to head to the Super Bowl with her dad in February.
In the meantime, she is keeping busy with her annual stocking project.
Her hope is to send more than 10,000 stockings- stuffed full of goodies- to service members overseas, just in time for the holidays.
"We have one week to go. We're a little bit like ahead of schedule with everything and all of the stockings that we've been doing like per day because we're working on them every single day," said Sawyer.
To learn more about Sawyer, and her non-profit, Miss Sawyer's Kids with a Cause, click here.