DENVER – When life hands you lemons, you do what a 6-year-old Denver boy did: open a lemonade stand. In doing so, Brady Campbell is living up to a promise he made to his father before he passed away.
“My dad and I came up with the idea of a lemonade stand to take my mom on a date because I didn’t have enough money and I wanted to pay, so I did it,” Brady said.
Brady opened the lemonade stand the day after his father Brandon Campbell passed away from colon cancer. Brady’s friends and neighbors came to support him.
Brady says he charged “25 cents or best offer.”
The crowd caught the attention of a Denver police officer, who called in other first responders.
Brady’s mother Amanda says about 75 people showed up that day.
“It was amazing. You could just feel the warmth and energy and such a positive thing in such a tragic time for us. It really lifted our spirits and really made Brady so happy. Brandon was a savvy businessman and wanted to teach Brady all those lessons, and I could just [see] it happening. It made my heart really happy,” she said.
Brady raised $244 the first day. Then, a neighbor set up a virtual lemonade stand on GoFundMe to raise even more money for Brady, his mom and for cancer research.
“Through that, we can get advocacy out, the word for colon cancer, especially young onset colon cancer. We are happy through all this, we have brought some awareness. I feel like it gives some purpose to such a tragedy,” Amanda said.
Brady is still planning the date with his mom. He said she likes sushi and they will get ice cream for dessert. He wants to make the date a weekly occurrence.
“Maybe we will have our Friday night date night. Brandon and I used to do that, so I think we will start that and take the time to spend that time together,” Amanda said.
Amanda says a small part of the donations will go toward the dates. The rest will be donated to the Brandon Campbell Memorial Fund at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Colontown, a support group for colorectal patients, survivors and caregivers.
“We are happy through all this, we have brought some awareness. I feel like it gives some purpose to such a tragedy,” Amanda said.