6-year-old donates lemonade stand money to injured teenager

KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) - Gavin Whitacre, a 6-year-old student at Eastern Elementary School in Howard County, had an idea to start a lemonade stand to make a little money to put into his savings account.

But then he heard about Taylor Godfrey, the 18-year-old Western High School graduate who was seriously injured in a car crash in May and has been fighting for her life ever since.

After that, Gavin still wanted to start a lemonade stand. But instead of keeping the money for himself, he decided he wanted to give it all to Taylor.

And on a recent day, that's just what he did.

Wearing sunglasses with a towel slung over his shoulder, Gavin manned his stand near the entrance to Indian Heights on Center Road and spent two hours pouring ice-cold lemonade for the crowd of customers who showed up.

Gavin's parents, Abbi and Brett Whitacre, helped out by refilling the lemonade dispenser and keeping an eye on things, but it was Gavin's show as he stood behind the counter and took orders.

And it was all Gavin's idea to donate the money to Taylor, Abbi said.

She said ever since they heard about Taylor's accident, she and her son have prayed for her every night.

Then, Abbi joined a Facebook group called Prayers4Taylor, where people could share thoughts and encouragement to the family. It's also where Taylor's mom, Natalie, shares updates on her daughter's condition and has thousands of followers.

Through it all, Gavin worried for Taylor and always asked how she was doing. Abbi said for some reason, her son felt connected to Taylor and her family.

'œGavin is worried about everything and everyone,'ť she said. 'œHe always wants to know what's going on, so we talked about Taylor and what happened to her.'ť

And what happened was horrific. On May 11, Taylor collided with a semi at the intersection of Indiana 26 and 400 West in western Howard County. The impact caused her vehicle to reduce to one-fourth of its original size, and left her with multiple external and internal injuries.

Taylor spent weeks in critical condition, but is now in therapy and recovering. Her mom posted on the Facebook group that Taylor has graduated to a regular wheelchair and her walking is starting to improve.

Abbi said Gavin has followed every update on Taylor's condition. When they went to get ice cream at Scoops on Center Road and saw a donation bucket for Taylor, so Abbi put some money in.

That's when Gavin spoke up with an idea: why not donate all the money from his lemonade stand to Taylor and her family?

'œI was surprised. I really was,'ť Abbi said. 'œI know he's sweet, but when he said it, I just cried. I told my husband that I was just so proud of him. I really love that he thought of it.'ť

Later in the week, Abbi posted on the Prayers4Taylor Facebook page about the lemonade stand. The support and encouragement for Gavin's idea started pouring in immediately.

And that support was on full display as a steady stream of customers showed up to get a glass of lemonade and donate to Taylor and her family.

David Halton, a volunteer firefighter with the Taylor Township Fire Department, ended up making a surprise visit with a fire truck, which he parked by the stand with the lights on to get the attention of passing cars.

'œGavin's an incredible young man,'ť Halton said. 'œIt's nice to see. This gives you hope for the future. With all the stuff going on right now, we need all the hope we can get.'ť

Lauren LaFever agreed. She showed up at the lemonade stand to support Gavin and his outreach to help Taylor, who is one of her best friends.

'œIt's sweet and really heartwarming,'ť LaFever said. 'œIt's so nice to know people are following Taylor's story and trying to help from all around the country.'ť

As for Gavin, he seemed to be in his element pouring lemonade and chatting with customers, who included teachers and other friends from school who he hadn't seen in months.

'œI want to help her, but I only have two monies,'ť he said, holding up two fingers.

But by the time his stand closed down at 2 p.m., Gavin had way more than that. Abbi said customers ended up donating $820 to Taylor, which they planned on giving to her mom.

'œWe're really blessed to be able to do this for them, because my heart just aches for Taylor and her family,'ť she said.

And it may not be the end of the Gavin's lemonade-stand outreach. Abbi said other organizations have asked if Gavin can set up shop at their events to continue to raise money for Taylor.

She said if she knows her son at all, he'll be more than willing to continue donating his profits to help an 18-year-old Western graduate he's never met, but cares for deeply.

'œHe's very kind and warmhearted,'ť Abbi said. 'œIf we are available, we'll be there. We're excited.'ť

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Source: Kokomo Tribune