A Jefferson City boy decided to take matters into his own hands when he learned he’s not old enough to help with tornado cleanup. 11-year-old Garrett Sommerer couldn’t stand by and watch his community suffering from last week’s tornado. He did what many young kids like to do during the summertime – set up a lemonade stand. He charged 50 cents per glass and waited for the thirsty people to show up.
“The people that came were really nice. They offered me big money and no change. So that helped a lot,” he says.
Sommerer said he knew there would be a big turnout because his mom, Heather, posted on social media about the popular child summertime business.
To his pleasant surprise, the customers kept pouring in and he kept pouring the lemonade. Several firefighters showed up. Before he knew it, Sommerer had poured his heart out and raised $320 to help tornado victims.
His good deed doesn’t stop there. Sommerer is selling lemonade again Friday with a big goal in mind.
“It’s a pretty big number – $1,000. Right now, I think I’m going to go halfway to about $500. If I can make it up there, that’s pretty big for me,” Sommerer says.
For thirsty lemonade lovers – he will be serving up the drinks from 2 to 6 p.m. Friday on the corner of Skyview Drive on McCarty Street in Jefferson City.
The soon-to-be sixth grader has a busy Friday – he also gets to meet Governor Parson. He says his pursuit to help his community has led to his rise to fame.
“They’ve just been talking about me at school,” he says. “That’s kind of up and up my popularity.”
Sommerer says he’s been obsessed with storm-chasing since he was four or five years old and he’s a big fan of the movie Twister.
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