Sault youngster does her part to help out

Last weekend, 6-year-old Ellie Thomsen-Caswell set up a lemonade stand and donated all of the proceeds to the Humane Society. She raised $128 in total, an impressive amount for a lemonade stand. 

“She had been wanting to set up a lemonade stand for a while now, she might have seen it on one of her cartoons or in a book, but she just got it into her head that she wanted to do a lemonade stand and we said, ‘okay let’s do it’,” said Cheryl Caswell, Ellie’s mother. 

When asked what she wanted to do with all of the money she would raise from selling lemonade, Ellie asked if they could “give it to the puppies and the kitties who don’t have homes”.

“We knew that the Humane Society was that place,” Caswell said. “She’s got a real soft spot for animals. She has a dog at my house and a dog and a cat at her dad’s house. She loves animals.”

The lemonade that was made through a combined effort of her and her mom, attracted many customers throughout the weekend. 

“People were really generous and really supportive once they found out where the money was going. Families came by and made generous donations, some even made donations through e-Transfer because they saw that the money was going to the Humane Society,” Caswell said. “She wanted to give back and we’re very happy that’s the way she chose to do it.”

“I like animals a lot,” said 6-year-old Ellie. Her favourite animal is a cheetah or a horse, but she also loves her dogs and cat.

“I liked selling the lemonade,” she said. 

Ellie will be entering Grade 1 this fall at Grand View Public School. 

“We are so proud of her. She’s selfless, caring, sweet, and just a beautiful little soul. She’s a great kid. For her to think that’s what she wanted to do with that money just proves how much she cares. Her dad and I are both really proud of her,” Caswell said.