"12 year old Megan, helping St. Jude kids"

 

By Kelly Wilson

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

 

 

Kool-Aid and lemonade stands will soon start cropping up on sidewalks around

Quincy, with young entrepreneurs getting their first taste of free enterprise.

 

But for 12-year-old Megan Huner, selling Kool-Aid and cookies is not about

lining her own pockets with a little extra cash.

 

"I just want to help people," the Baldwin School sixth-grader says.  Megan set up a stand a couple years ago and donated all of her proceeds to the Adams County chapter of the American Red Cross to help with relief efforts after the South Asia tsunami.

 

"This year I'm doing it for St. Jude", said Megan, a daughter of Todd and Trace Huner of Quincy. "I want to help other kids who are in pain. If I was in that condition and suffering from something, I'd want people to help me."  Megan doesn't think she's doing anything extraordinary.

 

Well, in the big scheme of things, selling cups of Kool-Aid and cookies to passersby for a quarter a piece probably won't add up to a huge sum of money.   But the amount isn't important.  Megan's desire to help others, particularly other children, is admirable at

her tender age and she's setting a great example for other youngsters to emulate.

 

"Her father and I are just so proud of her", Trace Huner said.  "I hope it inspires others to do the same thing."

 

She remembers when Megan told her two years ago that she wanted to operate a

Kool-Aid stand during a neighbor's garage sale.  "I said, What would you like to do with the money?"  She said she wanted to give it to the Red Cross.  "It brought tears to my eyes," Trace Huner said.

 

So when the Huners started planning a garage sale this year, they weren't surprised when Megan wanted to again operate a stand and donate proceeds to charity.   This time, the money will go to St. Jude Children¹s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., one of the world's leading research and treatment centers for children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.

 

The families of children treated at St. Jude, and its Midwest Affiliate in Peoria, pay nothing for the care. Lodging, transportation and meals also are provided.

 

"We really, really support St. Jude," Trace Huner said. "³It's the No. 1 charity I donate to. I can't imagine losing a child to cancer. (Megan is) our only child. If I can help save another childs life, oh my gosh."

 

Megan was well aware of her mom's favorite charity, and she's following in her footsteps.

"I just want to help children," she said.

 

Megan's stand will be set up on Saturday, May 12, outside their home, 1415 Kieferlund Court, on North 12th Street near Bergman Nurseries. 

 

If you're out and about, stop by for a refreshing drink and tasty snack, and why not give Megan, and the kids she's trying to help, an extra quarter or two.