When Katelynn Hardee, who is a ripe 5-years-old, found out that some families struggled to pay of their children’s lunch balances at school, she wanted to do what she could.
The little girl first recognized the issue when she overheard another student’s mom mention she was having trouble paying for something.
“She’s very inquisitive,” Karina Hardee, Katelynn’s mother, shared with FOX 5.
“So she started asking me a bunch of questions and I tried to answer as best as I could without too much for a 5-year-old, and just explained to her that some people aren’t as fortunate as us.”
Katelynn then decided how she could fill a need:
“I can give money to the lunch people so they’ll have money,” she said.
And after hosting lemonade stands in the summer, she felt she could organize another stand but with hot cocoa and cookies instead.
She baked the cookies and made the cocoa herself, setting up shop for three whole hours.
On Monday, Katelynn’s mom turned to the school to see if and how she could donate the money.
“I just left a note saying my daughter held a hot cocoa fundraiser over the weekend and would love to donate the money to any of the negative accounts,” Karina Hardee said.
The money raised ended up paying off the lunch balances for 123 students.
“So they can lunch and snack,” Katelynn shared.
Later, Katelyn’s generosity was celebrated with an award presented to her at school.