Mother of slain teenager turns grief into hope with coat drive
CHICAGO (WLS) -- "Terrell loved to help, he loved to give back," said Pam Bosley.
Her son, Terrell Bosley was shot and killed on April 4, 2006. It happened outside the Lights of Zion Missionary Bible Church near 116th and Halsted in Chicago. He and a group of friends were unloading instruments from a car for choir practice at the time.
"Mom, you always worry. I'm at church, calm down. I'm going to be okay," recalls his mother after speaking with him just 30 minutes before the shooting.
"When we started five years ago, I noticed that if we can help warm kids bodies, maybe that will warm their hearts and we can help end this violence," Pam Bosley said. The giveaway is a project of the Terrell Bosley Anti-Violence Association.
The coats given away Saturday were the gift of one anonymous donor who wanted Pam to be able to get through the holidays.
"So what I do now is I use the energy. Instead of just lying in the bed, I use the energy I have to give back to bring joy to so many," Pam Bosley said.
WATCH: Remembering Terrell Bosley
Many who received coats Saturday expressed that joy.
"Lots of love for everybody here, that they are able to do stuff like this for everybody," said Bernard Sutton, 13.
Zoey Pollard said that she planned to take a walk in the snow and make snow angels with her new coat.
"When I go to school and have to wait for my grandma, I'm outside. I get freezing cold," said 9-year-old Mariah Henderson, who said her new coat was comfortable.
This year, 110 children received a new coat and Bosley says that number goes up every year.
"The goal is to see them put their coats on, see their smiling faces, see them put their hats on, their gloves," said Pam Bosley.
