Bored and looking for something to do this summer, Danny Doherty came up with a plan to sell homemade ice cream to raise money for his brother's hockey team.
But just days after setting up the stand and serving vanilla ice cream, chocolate shavings, and Fluffernutters to about 20 people, Danny's family received a letter from the Norwood Board of Health ordering the stand to close. Town officials had received a complaint and said the 12-year-old's plan violated state regulations, the Massachusetts Food Code.
“I was surprised and upset,” he said of the letter that arrived on Aug. 5. “I don't understand why there are so many lemonade stands out there and they aren't being shut down.”
Danny's mother, Nancy Dougherty, who had encouraged her son to start the stand if he would donate half the proceeds to charity, was also surprised.
“Someone complained. The most disappointing thing for us was that someone thought they needed to complain about their child's position,” she said. “It just seemed kind of crazy to me.”
Instead, Danny decided to donate ice cream and receive donations for the Boston Bear Cubs, a team whose players have physical and developmental disabilities (including his younger brother, who has autism).
At the time, a neighborhood fundraiser was a huge success and became a talking point in Norwood, a suburban town about an hour outside Boston.
That included Furlong's Candies, which partnered with Boston radio station WWBX-FM to hold a fundraiser in its parking lot, raising $3,600 that day despite lines out the door.
On the first day of distribution, they ran out of supplies in 10 minutes and raised $1,000. Word then began to spread about the fundraiser and Danny's conflict with the town. Local media reported on the concession stand, and many local businesses began holding their own fundraisers for the hockey team.
“Danny was trying to do something good for his brother's team, and it wasn't just a regular hockey team,” store co-owner Nancy Thrasher said. “They needed more equipment. We thought this was the perfect situation for us to get involved.”
Thrasher said he understands why the concession stand had to be closed, but he still feels sorry.
“My heart just breaks for that kid. He was just trying to do his best for his brother's team,” she said.
Meanwhile, town officials said they have received hate letters and death threats over the conflict and suggested it has been grossly misrepresented in the media.
The Doughertys claimed they had previously sold their homemade ice cream and promoted it on social media. Officials said the letter came after the town received several complaints and unsuccessfully tried to contact the family, a claim the Doughertys dispute.
“We've had to deal with employees who are upset that they're being threatened. We've had people who have contacted someone and said, 'This is a violation,' and then we found their address by just looking it up on the Internet and sending them a letter,” said Norwood Town Manager Tony Mazzucco. It's the “first time in recent memory” the town has shut down an ice cream stand, he said, adding that Massachusetts law allows lemonade stands and the sale of baked goods but not homemade ice cream.
Mazzucco also said there are “legitimate health concerns” about homemade ice cream because it may be contaminated with listeria and other bacteria.
Danny's situation is not at all unusual. Young people in other areas have had their lemonade stands and pop-up bake sales shut down, often for lack of business licenses or health permits. Some states are moving to loosen restrictions on such businesses.
Nancy Dougherty said she was “heartbroken” to hear town officials had received threats. She said the family had never sold ice cream before, but confirmed Danny had set up an Instagram account to promote the stand.
“I’m not upset with the way the town responded to my complaints,” she said. “I’m shocked. [that] Someone complained. This was a small business. It's not a public health action for us to serve 20 of our friends, family and neighbors. If someone complains, it's because they're the ones who complain.”
For Dani, the attention can be a bit unsettling. “A bunch of people came and started chanting my name,” she said of the fundraiser at Furlong's. “I didn't like it, so I ran away. All the attention was on me, and I didn't like it.”
In the end, they raised about $20,000 for the hockey team — more than the club spends in a year — and the cash infusion should put the club on “sound financial footing” for the next decade or more.
“We've been overwhelmed by the community response,” Boston Bear Cubs manager and coach John Quill said as he accepted the check from the auto group at the Dougherty family home.
“There are a lot of good people out there,” Quill added. “Danny has inspired a lot of people to do good, to be kind and to help us out.”
