A seven-year-old boy is raising money to help sponsor a service dog. But this isn’t your regular lemonade stand.
Jaxon Byrne is selling snacks from his homemade stand called Snacks MJax, with proceeds going to sponsor a service dog from National Service Dogs (NSD), a non-profit organization that breeds, raises and trains service dogs.
Morgan Wilson, Jaxon’s mom, said her blended family has been sponsoring service dogs for the past two years.
“I found this lady at the mall, and she was working with an NSD puppy and I started talking to her about it and I really wanted to try to figure out how she got involved,” said Wilson. “When she told me that how, I did the same thing and I've been with NSD and in their community for the last two and a half years.”
Wilson said Jaxon has always been interested in helping others any way he can.
“He loves helping everybody,” Wilson said. “Anybody that he could help he will help. He knows that these dogs, they actually go on to help kids with autism or anyone who has PTSD or just struggles to be in public without the comfort of their dog. So, he really wanted to get involved with NSD within their volunteering, but he's seven so it's really hard for him to do that.”
Wilson originally suggested a lemonade stand, but Jaxon’s grandfather had something else in mind and built Jaxon a personalized snack stand. The stand has encouraged Jaxon’s entrepreneurial spirit, while also teaching him the value of hard work and helping others.
“He's always thought outside the box and he's always wanted the best things,” Wilson said. “Like he wants a green Lamborghini, he wants the green kayak… He really wants all of the things that he can have. But he knows that he needs money to get there. And he's already thinking like, ‘how big can I go.’”
This isn’t the first time Jaxon has thought to help others by any means possible.
“He's convinced me to knit hats for the homeless,” Wilson said. “Anybody that we see on the side of the road who has a sign, he pushes me to pull over and get them like a coffee or give them money. He wants to be the prime minister because he can help everybody. He just thinks so far ahead. And I honestly don't know where it comes from.”
Wilson felt the response from the community has been supportive of Jaxon’s initiative.
“My faith in humanity has definitely been restored,” Wilson said. “I'm incredibly overwhelmed by all of the responses that we've had and they're so positive and everybody wants to help. It’s incredible and I just want to say thank you to everybody who's gotten involved. Thank you to everybody who's donated money or their time or just came out to say hi to Jaxon. It's been amazing and I'm so grateful to everybody.”
Jaxon comes out every other weekend to sell his snacks.
