FREEDOM (NBC26) — Aaron Vanden Heuvel has been rolling dough in his kitchen every weekend since February.
“It has been really busy," he said.
The Xavier Middle School sixth grader honors his grandmother who passed away, and her delicious baking, through Yum Yum rolls. Inspired by the book A Long Walk to Water, which he read in class, Aaron donates half of all his proceeds to Water for South Sudan and hopes to raise $15,000 to fund a new well.
“People can just get it right away," he said. "They don’t have to send their children to walk eight hours to get water.“
Aaron wanted to do even more good with his dough, and with memorial day and women’s veteran’s day on the horizon, he's getting a little help from his big sister, Eve.
“My favorite part is waking up on Sunday morning to the smell of caramel rolls," she said.
As part of her platform for Miss Green Bay Area’s teen, Eve talks to kids about who veterans are through Thank You From the Heart- Thanking Our Veterans.
“It’s really important on memorial day to really reflect on why we live in America with the freedoms that we do," she said. "And giving gratitude towards those people who fought for those freedoms.“
The siblings are putting together special boxes with cards inside that people can order for a female veteran or family of a fallen military member.
“I am able to implement my own advocacy and work that into something that Aaron‘s been working on as well," said Eve. "And that’s really exciting for our family.“
“It’s hard to lose a relative," said Aaron. "And also it’s just good to always appreciate veterans. If I see a veteran, I’ll always thank them for their service.“
Yum Yum rolls are $20 for a dozen and $10 for a half. Aaron does weekend pick-ups in Appleton, Green bay and Oshkosh. Aaron asks customers to get orders for Memorial Day in by Thursday, May 20th for pick-up on Saturday May 22nd, and orders for Women Veterans Day by Thursday, June 10th for pick-up on Saturday June 12th. You can buy some rolls for a veteran or family you know by filling out this form here, or by sending an email to yumyumrolls4charity@gmail.com.
