Via Today:
A 9-year-old Ohio girl used a lemonade stand this week to help her raise money to buy an electronic tablet to help with schoolwork — and maybe play a few video games. She failed to raise enough money to meet her goal, but she got the device anyway, thanks to a thirsty police officer.
Rising fourth grader Gabrielle Garcar was tending to her lemonade stand Monday at her grandmother’s condo building when Zak Ropos stopped by for a cup. When the Lake County sheriff’s deputy learned what the girl planned to do with the money she raised, he pulled her mother aside.
“I told her, ‘I have an old iPad at home. I’ll go home and see what I can do with it,'” he told TODAY.com. But once home, Ropos realized the device no longer worked, so he headed to Best Buy and purchased a brand-new electronic tablet.
“She’s 9 years old and she’s willing to work for what she wants, and I found that very admirable of her,” said Ropos, 22. “I knew her lemonade stand wasn’t probably going to bring in enough money for a tablet, but seeing that she was willing to work for what she wanted, I was willing to help her. People have helped me out in my life, so it was kind of like a pay-it-forward type thing.”