Free Ice Cream Gift for One Child Prompts Donations to Fund Free Sweets For Kids the Entire Summer
A heartwarming, brain-freezing story comes now from the streets of Massachusetts, where a woman who offered free ice cream to a penniless child sparked a McFlurry of giving.
Madyson Silvagnoli can be found in her truck—Maddy’s Ice Cream and More—along the streets of Gardner on hot summer days. Silvagnoli says her ice cream truck is a symbol of childhood and nostalgia for her customers, and is as much about spreading joy as turning a profit.
So perhaps it should not have surprised anyone when, confronted with a teary-eyed child explaining he had “no dollars” to buy ice cream, Silvagnoli dolloped a single scoop in a small cup, added some whipped cream and sprinkles, and handed it to the boy.
“We don’t turn kids away when they don’t have money,” Silvagnoli can be heard in a video that went deliciously viral. “You want an ice cream from Maddy, you get an ice cream from Maddy.”
Shared on Instagram, the response to Maddy and her kindness was immense, with many praising her to the high heavens. The comment section coalesced around the idea of donating to a sort of fund that can pay for free ice cream to other children without pocket money.
Silvagnoli put up a product on her website called the No More Tears fund, and also launched a line of merchandise where the proceeds go to do just that—funding free ice cream giveaways.
It features happy smiling cartoon ice cream cones and cups with a tagline “kindness is always free” which was taken from the caption of the viral video that was viewed 9 million times.
Speaking with Today, Silvagnoli said she “empathizes” with every child who comes up to the ice cream truck.
“The world is getting so scary, and I have three daughters, and nieces and nephews and all that, and I want them to have a bright future,” she adds. “I feel like, if I start something so small they can see my kindness, pay it forward, and it just spreads.”