On Thursday morning, Walmart surprised Wareham store associate Sophia Kelly with the news that her recent act of kindness won the Walmart Associate Challenge. As a result, her favorite nonprofit, Papa’s Pet Project, will receive a $10,000 grant from Walmart to help them with their mission to improve the lives of homeless animals in the community.

The Walmart-wide challenge asked associates to share how they are sparking kindness in their communities using #SparkKindness and #Walmartassociatechallenge. Sophia is one of only 12 winners across the country. She has worked at the Wareham Walmart store for eight years, most recently as a claims supervisor. She loves animals and spends her spare time volunteering at animal shelters, including Papa’s Pet Project.

“I’m truly humbled by this experience and trying to find the Purrfect words to capture it all,” said Kelly. “I’m so proud to have been a part of this challenge and to work for a company that generously rewards associates for serving their communities. Being surprised this morning and learning that I had won $10,000 for Papa’s Pet Project was surreal. This donation will help many more abused, abandoned and surrendered cats heal and enable us to embark on a new program to connect more kitties with people in our community.”