Girl, 5, protests Westboro Baptist Church with lemonade stand
The Westboro Baptist Church, hate group masquerading as a church, has made a powerful, adorable enemy: a five-year-old girl with a hankering for equality.
Jayden, the daughter of Jon Sink, founder of the philanthropic arts group FRESHCASSETTE - Creative Compassion, decided to initiate her own fight against the Westboro Baptist Church by setting up a pink lemonade stand at The Equality House on Friday afternoon. The rainbow-colored building stands opposite Westboro's Topeka facilities. Painted the colors of the pride flag, the building was purchased by Aaron Jackson, one of the founders of Planting Peace, a nonprofit organization established in 2004, and dedicated toward the goal of spreading equality.
Credit: Megan Rogers
According to the Huffington Post report, Jayden, a Kansas City native, decided to set up her stand at the Equality House after her parents explained to her the significance of the building, and the hateful message of the church across the street. Upon hearing this, Jayden felt compelled to act, setting the a goal of raising money in support of a message of love and peace. To this end, she painted a banner reading, "Pink Lemonade for Peace: $1 Suggested Donation". She then set up the stand and waited for supporters.
She didn't have to wait long.
The $1 "suggested donation" quickly turned a profit of $400 during the day on Friday, proving that the best way to fight against intolerance is by making it rain singles.
Credit: Megan Rogers
Naturally, the Westboro Baptish Church, which has never met a cause it didn't hate, sent representatives to try and put a stop to the event. They attempted to call the cops on the lemonade stand, and even went as far as to yell obscenities when that failed. For example, Westboro representatives called a group of soldiers who rode out on their motorcycles in support of the event "bastards," because apparently that's what passes for a completely rational response to a little girl's lemonade stand.
Credit: Megan Rogers
Of course, as is always the case with Westboro, the hate didn't actually accomplish anything except inspire people to give more. In addition to the $400 Jayden raised during the day on Friday, she also collected over $1000 with an online campaign set up through Crowd Rise, with some supporters donating as much as $230. One person gave $26, dedicating each dollar to a victim of the Newton, Connecticut shooting six months ago.
"As we all know, the Westboro Baptist Church puts a lot of hate into the world," wrote Aaron Jackson, in an email to HuffPost. "Since we cannot stop them, the next best thing is to smother it with love. That is what 5-year-old Jayden accomplished today! Jayden set up a lemonade stand in front of the church. Not only did she quench the thirst of a lot of loving supporters, the money she raised was donated to Planting Peace so she could help Planting Peace promote a more peaceful world."
Davis Hammet, Director of Operations for Planting Peace, added his voice to the chorus in support of the little girl. “Jayden represents the natural humanity we are born with," said Hammet. "We come into this world compassionate, caring beings and only become hateful if we are taught to be.”
You can add your own donation to Jayden's cause here. The online campaign has already raised $11,278, but every little bit counts.