About Us

The Sgt. Kennedy Ladon Sanders Foundation, Started by Kennedy’s parents, Shawn and Oneida Sanders, is a non-profit organization that honors Kennedy’s memory and her legacy as a hometown hero. Though it’s not even a year old yet, the foundation has already accomplished so much and has plans to expand its charitable endeavors in the future—all with the purpose of keeping Kennedy’s name alive and honoring her as the hero she is. Shawn, a former Marine and Oneida, a former board member for the Ware County Board of Education, is especially passionate about helping students from underprivileged areas have the same opportunities to succeed as their peers—whether on the court, the field, or in the classroom.

After graduation, Kennedy served as a community coach for the Waycross Middle School Lady Bulldogs basketball team, a volunteer soccer coach for the YMCA, a poll worker for Ware County Government, a cashier at Waycross Family Pharmacy, and an avid community volunteer. She also made tennis shoes her signature fashion statement—so much so that many people wore purple (her favorite color) or other brightly colored, stylish sneakers to her funeral as a way of showing respect to Kennedy and her family. Kennedy and two others were killed and many others wounded on January 28, 2024 by a drone attack while on deployment in Jordan. She was posthumously promoted to the rank of Sergeant by President Joe Biden.