Toledo Buffalo Soldiers give away safety whistles in honor of Sierah Joughin

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – Whenever you’re walking alone, you should carry a whistle. That’s the message from the Toledo Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club.

“If you’re in the park and you just yell, ‘Help!’ or whatever you yell, there’s a good chance that the other people in the park hear that, but it could be kids playing, it could be somebody yelling for a friend, or anything else,” member Fred “Febvre” LeFebvre said.

Monday morning, Lydia Schafer was running at Wildwood Metropark off Central Avenue when Earl “Tabono” Mack walked up to her and handed her a whistle.

“And I burst into tears. It was like the nicest thing,” said Schafer. “It was just this random act of kindness, and he said, ‘You should never be in here without a whistle.’”

“She was so happy to get the whistle, she gave me this big hug, she started crying, and she said no one has ever done something that nice for her, but it’s just for her personal safety,” explained Mack.

The local chapter of the Buffalo Soldiers started the giveaway in honor of Sierah Joughin. The University of Toledo student was kidnapped and killed in 2016.

“When I wear this whistle, it’s more precious than any gold necklace I wear because of who gave it to me and the meaning behind it and that a stranger stopped me in the park this morning and was just kind,” added Schafer.

For more information about the Toledo Buffalo Soldiers, click here.

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