A little girl in Midway raised over $1,000 for the village’s volunteer fire department by selling lemonade and home-baked treats.
Finley Kamigochi, 5, said she was inspired to help the department when she tasted some rosemary lemonade while on a family vacation.
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“It was mostly Finley’s idea,” her father, Cam, told The Gazette. With some encouragement from her mom, Ashley, Finley set her mind to hosting a lemonade stand on Saturday, Aug. 7.
With wildfire smoke clearing overhead, Finley’s parents hoped she might collect $50 in donations.
It might have been the posters Cam put up at the grocery store and the gas station, or it might’ve had something to do with the fact that her grandfather, Gord, is a long-serving member at the department, but Fire Chief Mike Daloise caught wind of Finley’s initiative, who put her lemonade stand on Facebook live.
Finley sold lemonade at the suggested donation of $1, she asked for 50 cents for Rice Krispie squares and $1 for cookies. (Mom Ashley and Finley’s grandmother helped with the baking).
“We probably went through 40 or 50 cups of lemonade, and we sold out of treats, but a lot of people came just to donate,” Cam said.
Within three hours, Finley raised just under $1,200, 90 per cent of which she gave to the department at a special ceremony Tuesday evening, Aug. 10.
“It’s to help the fire department and keep people safe and to help the animals,” Finley explained, adding that she has three cats of her own.
“We’re very proud,” Cam said.
Fire Chief Daloise thanked Finley in front of the whole department.
“We really appreciate it. And everybody here thinks you did a really great job,” he told her.
Finley is meanwhile pondering how she’ll spend the 10 per cent she earned for herself (roughly $120). Her top two choices so far include a trip to Legoland in San Diego, Calif., or a doll-buying spree closer to home.
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