Kids look to break the heat with charity

By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express

With all the bad news circulating around the world, the Maynard family is looking to give back in a positive way.

Ben Maynard, 10, and Molly Maynard, 5, have been selling freezies in Oshawa’s Mountjoy Park to raise funds for Sick Kids Hospital and PSC Partners Seeking a Cure Canada.

Their father Michael explains his children chose the two causes due to personal experiences with both.

“It’s a long story,” says Ben. “But, I always love raising money for good causes, and in June we did a thing called the Gutsy Walk, which is for inflammatory bowel disease, and we [realized just how much we enjoy fundraising].”

Ben says a couple of weeks ago, they’d seen a few friends start a lemonade shack to send money to Sri Lanka.

He and his sister liked the idea, and they had a lot of freezies, which were given to them by their grandmother. Thus, the freezie stand was born.

“We set it up at Mountjoy because it was the closest and busiest park, and because it’s got stuff for the older kids, and stuff for the younger kids,” says Ben.

They’re still raising funds, but with a drumroll, Ben says they have raised $395 so far.

Ben notes many customers were surprised to see them there, so some didn’t have money on hand.

“But we also accepted e-transfer,” Ben says with a laugh.

He says some of their friends also showed up, as their efforts were being shared online.

“My dad was also posting stuff on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter,” he says.

Michael says many people were very generous in their support.

“They left to go and get money and came back, and they were like, ‘This is a really good cause, we really want to contribute to it,’” he explains.

Michael notes they raised a lot of money through Facebook, as a donation button appeared when he posted on the social media platform.

Both Michael and the children’s mother, Angela, said they are proud of their kids.

“They’re great kids, and they worked really hard before when we did the Gutsy Walk,” he says.

Ben and Molly raised around $2,700 for the Gutsy Walk, according to Michael. However, he is a little surprised at how successful the grassroots freezie stand idea has become.

“I think the thing that blew me away was probably just how generous everyone was being,” says Michael. “They had this idea where they could sell freezies for $2, and we thought if we could raise $20 or $30, it would be amazing.”

“I was really proud because Ben really drove this,” says Angela. “Molly was there helping out too, but this is what he wanted to do to help out other people and give back.”

The consensus between them was that Molly brought the “cute-factor.”

The kids have their stand set up at the front of the park, where Ben will be making transactions, and Molly is bringing over customers.

The kids will be at Mountjoy Park on Coldstream Drive on Wednesday, July 31, at 6 p.m., to continue their charitable efforts.