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Norwood boy’s charity ice cream stand shut down after neighbor complaint
The shutdown led to more donations for a local hockey team than expected.
A complaint to the Norwood Health Department forced a 12-year-old boy to shut down his charity ice cream stand.
However, the closure was more helpful to the family than they ever imagined it could be to their charity of choice, the Boston Bear Cubs.
“Since the story blew up in the news, we have been overwhelmed,” said John Quill, a coach for Boston Bear Cubs, a Canton-based hockey team for children and young adults with disabilities.
Quill said the ice cream stand initially raised $62, but now it is over $7,200.
Nancy Doherty told Boston 25 News that her son Danny was bored this summer and wanted a job. So, he decided to make ice cream to sell.
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Doherty told Boston 25 News that Danny had to donate at least half the money raised to a charity of his choice — the Boston Bear Cubs.
After a few days of business, the family got a letter from the Norwood Health Department telling them to shut down the ice cream stand because it was against the state code.
Danny told NBC Boston, “It’s disappointing.”
“I was more disappointed and kind of shocked that somebody thought this was something worth complaining about, a little ice cream stand serving 20 people that we know,” Doherty told Boston 25 News, echoing her son’s statement.
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Since it is against the Massachusetts food code to continue, the family has no intention of continuing, Doherty said.
The family decided to give the rest of the ice cream away. But, due to the complaint, they got even more attention.
“But we really are thankful for whoever tattled on us at this point because now this organization has received so much exposure to the general public and we really hope that this generates other donations for them,” Doherty told Boston 25 News.
It certainly has, Quill said. It has also garnered more publicity for the group, with more families reaching out to see if their children can join.
The team meets every Saturday morning and does a mix of drills and scrimmages against other local high school hockey teams or even players from Curry College.
“It’s a lot of fun, and they love it when other teams come and play us,” said Quill.
The Bear Cubs started 19 years ago when Quill began looking for a hockey team for his autistic son. He contacted the American Special Hockey Association, which, in turn, asked him to start a club in the Boston area.
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What began with five players now has a team of 20 to 30 participants per year. Many players return year after year, with some of the longest remaining 15 years.
One of those players is Pat, Danny’s brother.
“Danny is an amazing kid,” said Quill. “For him to be 12 years old and gone viral is amazing.”
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