On the weekend of October 1, a young girl from Huntingdon, Aria Noel, decided to sell lemonade at her family’s garage sale. The difference between this lemonade stand and any other you may encounter is that Noel was raising money for the local educational organization, I Am Heshima. Initially she raised $163 for the cause, but after her mom posted about her efforts on Facebook, a few people reached out and boosted her total.
Noel is a third grader at Notre-Dame Elementary School. Her inspiration for this fundraiser was that she “wanted to help kids who need to go to school… and to get artwork and supplies and pencils.” Noel says she really enjoys school, and that her favourite subject is reading. For her, making sure all kids have access to education is extremely important. She asserts that “They’re not supposed to just not go to school. They should go to school to learn how to do stuff.”
Lexis Beattie commented on the Facebook post, saying, “Aria, you inspire me to be my best, by doing your best. As founder & CEO at I Am Heshima, the organization you raised money for, I can tell you this work is NOT easy! When people help like you did, it inspires me and fills me with motivation to keep going.” She later shared the post on I Am Heshima’s Facebook page, saying “Thank you for inspiring us, Aria. You are a reminder of the power we have as human beings. We love you!”
