Madison Vanden Dungen, 7, sells lemonade outside her home in Saskatoon in July, 2024.Jade Floata/The Canadian Press
Madison is seven years old. She has undergone 50 medical procedures, loves numbers and sells lemonade.
This week, in her front yard, she was taunted and accosted at her lemonade stand, which she painted yellow with her dad.
Drink cups were tossed at her, the counter trashed and her money stolen. Police were called and two boys were arrested.
Madison was so upset she threw up.
Next week, she is going back to work because one day she wants to own a lemonade truck. After that, she plans to become a millionaire.
“She’s such a little businesswoman. She loves being out there and she loves her customers and greeting people,” her mother Jade Floata said Wednesday in an interview.
Floata said she watched in shock from her window on Monday afternoon when she saw Madison confronted while selling lemonade on the front lawn.
She said she saw one boy guzzle one cup after another and then threw the crushed empties at Madison. He then swiped spare change and candy from her counter.
Floata stormed out of the house and yelled at the boy, who she says ran across the street and began laughing with his friends. She looked down at Madison and asked if she was OK.
“She was just stunned,” the mother said.
“I asked, ‘Did he steal from you?”’
Madison replied, “Yes.”
The mother of five took her daughter inside the home and called in the rest of her children.
Madison was scared, began to have a stomach ache and vomited.
Floata said her daughter is medically fragile and was born with 15 defects. She has undergone 50 procedures.
“I had to do her daily care and I thought we might actually end up going to the hospital because I couldn’t figure out what was going on with her stomach,” Floata said.
“It just ended up being she was very, very worried.”
Meanwhile, the teenagers continued to stand across the street and taunt, she said.
The mother took photos of them and reported the robbery to police. Two boys, ages 14 and 16, were arrested soon after.
Saskatoon police said the 14-year-old was charged for carrying a knife and for breaching a court order. The 16-year-old was arrested on outstanding warrants.
“Hearing they did have weapons on them afterwards makes me ill,” Floata said.
Officers later returned to her home to let Madison know they made arrests.
“She completely relaxed right after and was able to go to sleep,” she said.
Floata said her daughter will set up the lemonade stand next week at GlassMasters Autoglass in Saskatoon on Circle Drive. Madison hopes to see many of her regulars.
A venue change is needed, Floata said.
“I don’t feel comfortable with her being in the front yard, especially when I was right there at the window. Things can happen so quickly.”
An online fundraiser has been set up to support Madison and her big dreams. She’s got many ideas, including to one day have a large mobile lemonade truck she can take around the city.
“She loves numbers and is always talking about how she wants to be a millionaire,” Floata said.
“All of our other kids usually ask for money, but Madison’s mind is a little different. She thinks of something and then asks permission if she can go ahead and do it.”