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PLYMOUTH — You can’t keep a good man down.
And in the case of 10-year-old Brian Lyons, stealing his table will not keep this young man from raising money for the fire company he loves and serves as a Junior Fire Chief.
Lyons is the kid from Plymouth who has been selling lemonade throughout the borough to raise money for the Plymouth Elm Hill Hose Co. No. 3 — his most recent project is to keep selling the lemonade until he reaches $14,000 to donate to the fire company to purchase a Jaws of Life device.
And there is no doubt Lyons will reach his goal, despite the recent theft of his folding table that he used to sell the lemonade.
At Wednesday night’s meeting of Plymouth Alive, Lyons was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation for his fundraising efforts and also with a surprise gift — a brand new folding table.
Terry Womelsdorf, chairman of Plymouth Alive, made the presentation to Lyons who was thrilled.
“We heard somebody stole your table,” Womelsdorf said. “Well, we have a gift for you that will make sure you keep selling your lemonade.”
With that, Womelsdorf presented Lyons with the table and Lyons smiled ear-to-ear as the committee cheered for him.
Lyons attended the meeting with his mother, Linda Uren, and his brother, Justin, 15, and sister, Evelyn, 7. Justin and Brian have been diagnosed with autism, their mother said, adding that Justin’s IQ is 171 and Brian has been raising money for the fire company for several years.
Uren said she and Brian noticed the table was missing from their Sweitzer Lane backyard on July 17 and they filed a police report.
“It happened overnight,” Uren said. “We couldn’t believe it.”
Not to worry. When word got out what had happened, Plymouth Alive went into action. The group, which is preparing for its 16th annual Kielbasa Festival Aug. 9-10, decided they had to help Lyons and they purchased the table.
“Brian is setting a great example for all of us,” Womelsdorf said. “He has raised money for the fire company and recently he presented a check to The Wall That Heals committee for $165. He’s an amazing young man.”
Uren said her son is determined to raise the money for the Jaws for Life. She said Luzerne County Council recently honored Brian, a junior fire chief, by having “Brian Lyons Day” in the county.
“Brian also donated $50 to the Wyoming Valley West school lunch fund,” Uren said, regarding the recent controversy in the school district. “He just wanted to help those families some way.”
Brian will be a fifth grade student at State Street Elementary Center in the fall.
Asked why he decided to become a major fundraiser in his hometown, Brian said, “I want to do what I can to help my fire department save people’s lives.”
Uren said the new folding table is a little bit bigger than Brian’s old table.
“He can’t wait tom get out there and resume raising money,” Uren said.
Brian will be selling his lemonade at his new table during the Kielbasa Festival.
“I hope people stop by and buy some lemonade,” she said. “The money will go to a good cause.”
