Kids sell ice cream, donate $1,110 to Coeur d’Alene Food Bank

Little entrepreneurs with big hearts have proven that in spite of quarantine and COVID-19, life is still pretty sweet.

The five community-minded youths turned a GMC Yukon XL into an ice cream truck for a day on Wednesday and donated a total of $1,110 to the Community Action Partnership Coeur d'Alene Food Bank on Thursday morning.

With mom Jamie Green at the wheel, siblings Sam, 8, Sophia, 12, Scarlett, 10, and Sullivan, 5, along with their friend Jimmy Greene, 7, drove all over North Idaho selling frosty treats to friends and businesses to help put food on the table for those in need.

The kids brought in $555 and Kootenai Law Group, which donated the ice cream, matched that amount.

"Creatively, they found a way not only to keep themselves busy, but to help people at the same time," said food bank manager Darrell Rickard. "That’s just amazing."

The ice cream crew traveled from the southern end of Coeur d'Alene to Hayden and Post Falls and back to Coeur d'Alene as ice cream truck music blasted from the Yukon's sound system.

Jamie, the marketing director for Kootenai Law Group, posted the ice cream truck project on social media and received a mass of responses from people who wanted to contribute. She said Sophia was the one who dreamed up the project, stemming from the kids' desire to do something to help the community.

"The immediate need that can serve more people is the food banks," Jamie said. "There's people who haven't received their unemployment checks yet. They're hungry — that’s the biggest need."

Sophia said it was a really cool experience. When they delivered the money to the food bank, the kids were given a tour (at a safe distance) and they got to see where their donation would be used.

"Our town is so willing and kind," Sophia said.

Rickard said it's amazing that this pandemic has created such an enthusiasm in people to take care of each other.

"That’s what I'm seeing so much of, is that people just want to help other people in some way or another," he said. "This was just a totally creative, excellent way to do it."

During this creative lesson in humility, Jamie said Sophia was surprised when someone gave her $20.

“She said, ‘That’s why you don’t judge a book by its cover,’” Jamie said. “It melted my heart.”