Baker School senior Kadance Fredericksen, 18, died Monday in a fatal crash, leaving behind a remarkable legacy of community service and youth advocacy.

• Fredericksen was the founder of Kada’s Promise, a charitable initiative she established in 2017 to provide teddy bears and blankets to neglected children. Her work was deeply personal, stemming from her own challenging childhood experiences of abuse and instability.

“Kada’s Promise is probably my greatest accomplishment to date,” Fredericksen had previously said on her website. “It is my life’s story… I am so blessed that my pain was temporary and now I get to use my story to temporarily take someone else’s pain away.”

In 2024, Fredericksen had already dedicated 210 volunteer hours and collected over 12,000 teddy bears and blankets for children experiencing trauma. Her efforts earned her the Citizen of the Year title in Crestview for 2019-2020.

Baker School Principal Michael Martello expressed profound grief in an official statement, describing Fredericksen as “a beacon of light in our community.”

• “It is with profound sadness that we mourn the tragic loss of Kadance Fredericksen, an exceptional young woman, senior at Baker School, and founder of ‘Kada’s Promise,'” Martello said. “Our hearts go out to her family, friends, and all those who knew and loved her.”

The school is providing support for students during this difficult time. “As we navigate this heartbreaking time, we are deeply grateful for our dedicated Baker faculty and staff, our community, as well as the unwavering support of our district team in providing additional counselors,” Martello added.

Fredericksen was also a pageant participant, holding the title of Miss Okaloosa County Teen USA and previously winning Little Miss Northwest Florida in 2017. During her pageantry career, she raised over $25,000 for the Ronald McDonald House.

Removed from an abusive situation by her biological father and stepmother in 2017, Fredericksen found stability when her stepmother formally adopted her, transforming her early life challenges into a mission of compassion and support for other children in need.

The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the circumstances of the fatal crash.