Children are notorious for saying cute and funny things. They’re also known for their uncanny ability to pleasantly surprise you. Last fall, 7-year-old Thane was in the car with his dad when he made a seemingly random request.
“He asked me if we could get a dunk tank for our front yard,” explained his dad, Clint.
After some initial confusion, Thane’s parents learned one of his classmates had recently gone to a local hospital for an injury, and Thane wanted to get a dunk tank so he could raise money to help her.
“I don’t know where he got the idea of a dunk tank – he’s probably seen only one in his whole life – but I thought it was very creative. I told him it was a great idea, but I wasn’t sure how we could make it happen. Instead, we came up with the idea of selling his old toys to raise money.”
Thane’s mom, Jacki, used Facebook Marketplace to list the toys.
“Each one was priced between one and five dollars,” she said. “We sold toys all winter long. I kept the money he raised in an envelope, and Thane kept careful track of how much he had.”
Thane set a goal of raising $250. His parents offered to contribute $100.
“A couple of months later, I was talking to a neighbor whose husband is a physician in the area. She loved that Thane was trying to help other children, and she wanted to donate $100,” shared Jacki.
As Thane sold toys and got closer to reaching his goal, his parents asked where he wanted to donate the money.
“I pointed out that his sister was born at Aurora Medical Center – Kenosha. She was in the NICU for a week, and they took really good care of her,” said Clint. “Our pediatrician, Dr. Sheri Rocco, also practices at Aurora. Thane decided he really wanted to give the money to help her patients.”
“It was such a sweet gesture,” added Dr. Rocco. “Thane is overjoyed to be able to help pediatric patients, and the fact that he’s only 7 years old just shows what a big heart he has.”
The company Clint works for decided to support Thane’s efforts and match donations up to $500. Clint and Jacki rounded up their contribution, so Thane also had $500. In all, he raised $1,000 for Aurora Kenosha. Half will be used to purchase new toys; the other half will be used to buy new books because both Thane and his sister love to read.
“It was all Thane’s idea, which makes the donation that much sweeter,” said Jacki.
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