As I drove towards the
Centennial Arena during Valley East Days, I couldn’t help notice the
bright colourful umbrella and tables on the lawn at the corner of Laurier
and
Centennial Drive
. Being curious, and always on the lookout for a good story, so I stopped
and investigated. After speaking to Chris Hein, the father of two of the
girls operating the stand, I found out that one day recently, Chris was
having a normal everyday discussion with his daughters, Jamie, 4, on the
far right in the photo, and Brooklyne, 6, in the middle, when the girls
told him that they wanted to help people who had cancer.
Chris had always told his children that it never hurts to help
someone else, so to hear this suggestion come from his young girls touched
him deeply as a parent. After some planning, they made all of the
arrangements to run a lemonade stand with their friend, Isabelle Chaput, 9
on the far left, and decided to set up on a busy corner during Valley East
Days where a lot of people would see them. The girls asked their
Grandmother, who lives in the area, for some vegetables to sell as well.
They baked cookies and rice crispy squares in the morning with their
father and then enjoyed a beautiful Saturday raising money that they would
donate to the Terry Fox Run. According to Chris, “Can you think of a
better way for a father to spend a Saturday than helping his children in a
worthy cause such as this?”
These three girls from
Notre Dame School in Hanmer learned a valuable lesson from their lemonade
stand, and their participation in the Terry Fox Run will become an annual
event for the Hein’s Family. Yes, Brooklyne, you are absolutely right.
“If everyone does a little, we can all help a lot.”
As I went back to my
car with my wrapped up piece of rice crispies square, I wondered how many
others who saw these three cute little girls that day recalled a life when
lemonade stands and sitting on the grass all afternoon were the norm
rather than the exception. The last thing I saw when I pulled away was the
bright smile from Jamie who showed sincere appreciation for my support of
her lemonade stand. She may never realize that what she handed me was much
more than simply a piece of dessert – she gave me a chance to remember a
time that I had almost forgotten. Thank you girls.
