Ice Cream Shop Offers Free Cones To Kids Who Get COVID Vaccine
HYDE PARK (CBS) - A local shop is offering a sweet treat to kids who get a COVID-19 vaccine.
At Ron's Gourmet Ice Cream in Hyde Park and Dedham, cones are free for vaccinated children, thanks to long-time, loyal customer Marc Lavine, who started a GoFundMe.
Lavine, a professor at UMass Boston, created the fundraiser as a way to reward kids under 12 who have done their part to protect the community by getting vaccinated.
It all started with $5, which sponsors one cone, but it wasn't long before it blew up. Within days, they had raised $6,000.
"Huge, huge feedback. It's been like a train that got away from us or from me, because he approached me about it and said 'Hey this is a great idea we should do this,' and I said 'Yeah, sure do your thing' and then he came back to me and was like 'Hey we have $4,000 raised and I said uhhh okay," co-owner Jay Covitz told WBZ-TV.
Covitz, who runs the ice cream store and bowling alley with his father Ron, said they have more money than they need to cover the ice cream, especially in December. Now they're looking into ways to give back, like visiting some vaccine clinics or finding another way to thank all the people who donated.
"It's all about getting back to normal life for all of us. That's the part we're trying to get at. Everybody being happy being next to each other," Covitz said.
