OXFORD, Conn. — A group of kids and their parents donated the sales of their weekend lemonade stand to the Oxford Fire Department.
The group had a lemonade stand on Middlefield Drive both Saturday and Sunday, raising $3,561 for first responders.
Kelly Maguire says she was moved to help after seeing pictures and videos online after the devastating floods ravaged the area on Aug. 18. Her family and a group of friends navigated telling their young kids about the natural disaster and how they could help.
“We just wanted to help, and it felt overwhelming because there's so many things that needed to be done and houses that needed help and people that needed money, and [we] didn't really know where to start,” said Maguire.
She says once she told her kids about the heroic work of the local firefighters they decided to do a lemonade stand.
“Trying to explain to the kids in a six-year-old way what's going on, how we can help, why we should help. So, having them come here to deliver the money personally to the firefighters, I think is really important,” said Maguire.
Firefighters invited the kids and their parents to take a ride in the fire truck, taking them around town to show them some of the damage and ongoing repairs.
“It’s hard to see, and it's incredible because you do see the damage, but… even how it looks now, compared to what it looked like, it is so different,” said Maguire.
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The lemonade stand donation wasn’t the only donation they received Wednesday.
“I picked up a check in excess of $20,000 from the Thomaston Fire Department. They held a boot drive last weekend,” said Assistant Fire Chief Ed Hellauer.
That money will go to the Oxford Flood Victims fund that was created by the town to help residents with big ticket and urgent repairs.
“We had an applicant, her father is 90 years old and has Alzheimer’s disease and he couldn’t get to his house because his driveway needs fixing. We sent a contractor over there, and he gave me a quote of $2,500,” said George Temple, the first selectmen for the town of Oxford.
Temple says the town has enough supplies, like food and water, but they need money to help residents quickly with expensive, urgent repairs that can’t wait for federal relief funds.
If you would like to donate to the Oxford Flood Victims Fund you can donate online or you can drop off or mail donations to:
Town of Oxford/Attn: Town Clerk, 486 Oxford Road, Oxford, Ct 06478
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Jake Garcia is a multimedia journalist for FOX61 News. He can be reached at jgarcia@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
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