Sartell 4th Grader Uses Earnings From Lemonade Stand to Help Make-A-Wish Send A Boy Fishing in Alaska

(KNSI) – An enterprising fourth grader from Sartell raised $232 dollars one glass of lemonade, one chocolate chip cookie and one brownie at a time one August afternoon to help a St. Cloud boy’s Make a Wish come true.

Ten-year-old Beckett is battling a rare form of cancer and has a dream of going fishing in Alaska; and he will get to take that trip thanks to Nellie Omann, who tells KNSI News it wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of her customers. “A lot of people that came didn’t just give us $1. They gave like $10 or $20.”

Omann held on to the money until she could surprise the Sartell Hich School Student Council and National Honors Society at their FunFest at Sartell High School. “I gave the money to them in an envelope. So, I bet they didn’t know how much it was in there. And then they actually sent me a card a couple of days after that, saying, ‘We are so happy that you gave us this money. That was a lot of money. And we hope that you join the student council. You would be amazing.'”

Nellie’s mom, Leah, said it was gratifying watching her daughter operate the stand to benefit someone else. “We thought it was pretty awesome that she wanted to do that. And we were very proud of her for taking on the initiative and for following through with it as well.”

Nellie plans to run two more stands in June and would like to split the proceeds between Make-A-Wish and another nonprofit.

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