Raise your hand if you were one of those kids with a lemonade stand!
I sure was. But, me and my friends used to do it for fun, one time as a project, and also as a way to increase our allowance and buy more candy. We didn’t really have a point or something generous in mind.
We weren’t like Luca, a 5th grader who opened a lemonade stand with a heartwarming cause:
To raise money for K9 vests!
Luca is a good guy. Be like Luca.
Here’s how one little kid became the change he wanted to see!
Luca’s Lemonade Stand
When Luca opened his lemonade stand last year during summer break, his mom assumed the kid just wanted to have fun and earn money for himself.
But, mom’s instincts didn’t work this time.
Luca did open the stand to have fun and to complete one generous cause: to raise money for at least one K9 pawfficer and his vest.
The first day was an absolute success and probably the best day ever in the history of kid lemonade stands. Luca earned an incredible amount of $60!
At the end of the day, when his mom asked him what he wanted to do, Luca gave her a surprising answer:
“He said that he had seen a news story recently about a police dog that had been shot and killed while on duty, and that some police dogs don’t have bulletproof vests. So, he said that he wanted to buy and donate a bulletproof vest for a police K9 so they would be protected,” said Luca’s mom.
Mom was absolutely amazed by Luca’s way of thinking. She was super proud of raising such a caring little boy.
Soon enough, they did some research and found out that each vest costs about $800 to $1,000.
Although his mom thought they would need a lot of summer days to complete the goal, Luca proved her wrong.
After sharing his lemonade stand on Facebook, a lot of people saw it and came by to help with the fundraiser. A whopping amount of $500 was gathered in just four hours.
And, after moving his stand to the entrance of the neighborhood, where more people could see it, Luca reached his goal of $800. Along with his friends, Drew and Ryan, and his brother, Zachary, Luca completed his mission.
It was now time to reach out and order the vest.
The Vest Has Arrived
Luca’s mission wasn’t in vain. The bulletproof vest for a canine named Yoshi was ordered, but it took a couple of months for it to come to the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office.
Yoshi, the brave K9 pawfficer, was now safer than ever. Thanks to Luca, Yoshi’s chance of survival from ever being hit in gunfire is now so much higher.
But, Luca doesn’t plan to stop there.
He plans to become an engineer when he grows up and help design better gear for police and military forces.
“He never misses an opportunity to thank anyone for wearing a badge or uniform for their service,” his mother said. “I couldn’t be prouder of the kindness that he shares so easily,” said the proud mom.
Last year, in 2022, a total of 25 police dogs lost their lives on duty. Almost half of them, 11 dogs, lost their lives in gunfire.
At the moment, there are 50,000 police canines in the States. If an average vest for those dogs costs around $1,000 or less like Luka’s did, we come to a whopping number of more than $50,000 to equip them. And, let’s not forget customized vests! They’re ever more pricey!
Canine vests save lives, and good boy, Luka, at such a young age, was already fully aware of it.
We couldn’t be more thankful for Luka and his initiative. We should all pray that all dogs receive their vest and more people find it in their heart to donate and react just like our buddy Luka.
READ MORE: Should The Safety Of Our K-9 Dogs Be So Expensive
