Denise Hayes, Principal at Fairfield North, was stunned by the amount.
“I had no idea this baby was bringing me a check for $1,020,” Hayes said.
Just before school opened, Cummings said he wanted to raise money for his classmates and for those needing school supplies, said his mother, Alayna Cummings.
With the help of a inflatable dinosaur and some savvy online advertising on a neighborhood website, he drew dozens of customers to his family’s driveway lemonade stand in Fairfield Township and hundreds more customers online – including one from New York City.
“In the first two hours we had the lemonade stand, Cayden made more than half of his proceeds. We were then blown away by how many people continued to donate for the remainder of that week,” she said.
“We have not done anything like this before so we were not sure who to donate to at first. I asked for suggestions on the Facebook post and let Cayden decide. He quickly chose to give it directly to his friends at Fairfield North. The school has been blessed with supplies for the kids, so the school is going to use the money for something special, so that Cayden can be remembered for his efforts."
Gina Gentry-Fletcher, spokeswoman for Fairfield Schools, said the school is still considering options for how to best use the donated $1,020.
“To be 5 years old and to be so selfless and care so much about others is something any parent would be proud of," his mother said. "Cayden has a heart of gold and it makes us feel as if we are doing this parenting thing right. And in the world we live in, everyone can use a bit of positivity and good.”
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