Coloradans – some as young as 4, some with financial troubles of their own – are doing what they can to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Children are putting up a lemonade stand in Wheat Ridge. A boutique owner is offering 10 percent of her profits in Cherry Creek. Kids are standing in front of King Soopers in Highlands Ranch collecting coins.
“They were just watching the news, and my little 8-year-old said, ‘How sad. They don’t have any houses. Let’s help these people,”‘ said Zoanne Terry, a resident of Skyline in Wheat Ridge.
Terry and her children, Jolene, 8, J.J., 6, and Zoe, 4, will give the Red Cross the money they make from their Labor Day lemonade stand at 18 Skyline Drive. They are working with Gold’s Grocery to get enough lemonade, and Key West Restaurant is going to cook Cajun food.
Laura Andrzejczak and her daughters, Tessa, 8 and Paige, 10, also decided to do something after watching news coverage of the hurricane.
“Paige just thought the whole thing was moving – she is very compassionate – and Tessa said she was just thinking it was horrible,” Andrzejczak said.
The girls went door-to-door in Highlands Ranch collecting money from the neighbors and were outside King Soopers on Wednesday raising money for the Red Cross.
“They came home and put their pajamas on and counted their money,” Andrzejczak said. The girls made $76.56 just from the door-to-door collections.
Brenda Freeman, who co- owns the Grand Champion Sports Bar and Night Club in Grand Lake, will collect $10 donations at the door when Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes, a New Orleans-based band, play at 8 p.m. on Labor Day.
“All of them live there, and their families are all there,” Freeman said. “They were on tour when all of this went down, and I don’t know if their homes are under water or crushed.”
Elizabeth Lindsay, who owns Elizabeth Lindsay Creations in Cherry Creek North, said she is donating 10 percent of her profits through Labor Day. The store features handbags, jewelry and other accessories.
Although Lindsay is having a tough time financially, she said she knew Katrina’s victims were in a far worse situation.
“I just woke up feeling absolutely ill about it and wanted to do whatever I could,” Lindsay said. “It made me very emotional to see all those people completely wiped out.”
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-820-1219 or at fcardona@denverpost.com.
