A 12-year-old from South Bend, Indiana, noticed how hard his mother was working and decided he wanted to “step up” and pitch in. So, young Jaelynn Wilson set up a lemonade stand to support his family.
When a local police officer named Ron Glon heard about the young entrepreneur’s endeavor, he took it as an opportunity to build a connection.
“So I started selling lemonade and cookies and then it evolved all the way to lemonade, cookies and punch.”
Despite all that’s going in the news recently, with rioting and anti-police protests, Wilson says he’s never been “scared” or “frightened” of cops. His mother had concerns, though, and Officer Glon decided to address those head-on.
Glon told the CBS, “His mother is concerned about him not knowing whether or not to trust police officers or not. My job is to tell him that he has nothing to worry about. Don’t be fearful. Don’t be afraid of us.”
He decided to support young Wilson’s entrepreneurial efforts by playing a supporting role, matching his earnings one for one, out of his own pocket. He also contributed some of the hardware for Jaelynn’s lemonade stand as well as labor.
“And then the last sale that I just did, Officer Ron Glon came out and he actually made a sign for me. He gave me a football and he gave my little 4-year-old brother a basketball,” said Wilson. “He really helped.”
Glon “stayed out almost the whole day just helping” as they served customers lemonade, fruit punch, and cookies, the young man explained.
As for the concerns Wilson’s mother had, Officer Glon offered some reassurance.
“I told her to make sure that her two sons know they had nothing to be scared of, don’t be frightened, no concerns whatsoever when you are dealing with a South Bend police officer or an officer in St. Joseph County,” he said, adding, “I still think we’re the finest police department in the country.”
When asked whether the “bad apples” have tarnished his trust in law enforcement, Wilson shared, “I trust cops.”
“I know there are things going on. There are things going around the media and it’s changed the way our world kind of is today and I understand that they have to look at that and they have to be able to change that in a different way,” he added.
“But I’ve never been scared, I’ve never been frightened. I’ve always actually loved cops.”
