Five-year-old Thane may be small, but he has a big heart! Recently, he organized a lemonade stand to raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Dakota because he wanted to help sick kids. His mom, Chanda, says when Thane heard the word “hospital,” there was no other charity.
The idea for the stand came about a few months before the family's rummage sale. Thane got the idea from a cartoon. Chanda says he would mention it at random, “Mom, when can we have a lemonade stand?” She would put him off by telling him he could have his lemonade stand when their family had a rummage sale. Then, Thane heard Grandma was planning a sale!
Chanda asked Thane what he planned on doing with the money he earned—did he want to buy something or give it to charity? Thane wanted to know more about that word “charity.” What was a “charity?” he asked. So Chanda gave him examples of different organizations. When she mentioned the Ronald McDonald House, Thane's mind was made up, and there was no more discussion.
Thane's lemonade stand became a family project. Grandma pitched in and found tables and decorations, his little cousin’s helped at the stand and with the help of his mom, Thane stayed up the night before the sale baking cooking to go with the lemonade. After all, “not all lemonade stands have cookies!” asserted Thane.
When they got to Grandma's for the sale, it was 7:30 am. Thane was heartbroken when someone didn't want one of his cookies for breakfast. From then on, he made sure every customer knew their purchase was for the Ronald McDonald House. People who didn't want cookies or lemonade still gave him change and told him what a great thing he was doing. Chanda says she had a proud mama moment. “We already knew he had big heart, but hearing him talk to people about why he was raising money, well, proud doesn't explain it,” she said.
Thane and his mom want to encourage others to help. Thane has had three short hospital stays. The longest, according to Chanda, was a week in NICU. She says there was nothing more stressful than watching Thane and not being able to help him. She feels lucky, though. Their family had a home and relatives in Sioux Falls and were able to go home for short periods. “I can't imagine what those families go through being away from home on top of everything else,” Chanda said.
Thane's lemonade stand was successful! He donated $16.48, and he is already planning for next year!
Thank you Thane for your generosity and for proving that big hearts do dwell in small packages!
Thank you to Chanda and Thane for sharing their story!
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