Two years ago, Reagan Jo Garry, a 6-year-old from Severn, Maryland, proposed an idea to her parents after she overheard them talking about her younger cousin Max who lived in Ohio and had been diagnosed with a brain tumor.
“She overheard us talking about it and decided she wanted to help her cousin Max, and she was persistent about it for an entire week,” said her mother, Felicia. Initially, Reagan Jo asked her mom about setting up a lemonade stand in front of her home, but it was the middle of winter and there was snow on the ground. Her mother suggested a hot chocolate stand instead and Reagan Jo absolutely loved the idea. “I started jumping up and down and I got excited,” said Reagan Jo.
Soon after, Reagan Jo came up with a name for her stand, “Coco for a Cause.” Felicia made a poster of it and shared details of the event on Facebook and LinkedIn. On the first day, not only did the friendly neighbors come out in support of Reagan Jo’s hot chocolate stand, but virtual donations started pouring in from far away as the social media posts gained traction and word quickly spread. It was such a success that they decided to sell hot chocolate for two additional days.
“We have a pedestrian friendly neighborhood and people just started coming by. We planned for one night and spent three nights selling hot chocolate. Even teachers from her school and friends came by to support Reagan Jo’s efforts,” said Felicia.
She raised nearly $2,000 for her cousin Max and he was able to get some medicine and toys while he was in the hospital. Max ended up being in the hospital for an entire year before making a full recovery from the cancer diagnosis, and Reagan Jo’s donations were a big help.
This past year, Reagan Jo told her parents she wanted to make the hot chocolate stand a yearly tradition. “She eventually picked Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland because she wanted an organization that would put the money to good use. We looked at videos of different local nonprofits and she was sold on Meals on Wheels once she saw the videos of how they support the community,” said Felicia.
In its third year, Reagan Jo’s “Coco for a Cause” was another success and she spent four and a half hours selling hot chocolate to support Meals on Wheels. “We had a lot of virtual donations come in as well but many people from the neighborhood and even further out came to support her,” said Felicia.
Reagan Jo She was able to raise $1,050 and recently visited Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland for a tour, to present her donation, and also deliver meals along with her parents to a number of clients.
What does the future hold for Reagan Jo? “I love helping people. I want to do it when I’m a grown up,” she excitedly said during her visit to Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland.