Girl, 10, partners with Spokane Public Schools to bring ice cream to local shelters
In the hazy heat of Spokane summers, Lem’s Pops, a local ice cream truck, serves as a respite from the weather for those facing housing insecurity.
Lemyn Welliver, the 10-year-old behind Lem’s Pops, comes from a family of business owners.
“She kind of grew up in that environment where we were just running between businesses,” said Lemyn’s mother, Sarah Welliver.
“So at 5, she said that she wanted a business.”
According to Sarah Welliver, entrepreneurship can teach kids valuable skills that they wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere.
They considered a lemonade stand but eventually landed on an ice cream truck .
“I was like, there’s no downside,” Sarah Welliver said.
This summer, the Wellivers are also using their vibrant blue and yellow ice cream truck to brighten up the lives of kids in shelters across Spokane with free popsicles and ice cream.
Lem’s ice cream truck is one way that Spokane Public School’s HEART, Homeless Education and Resource Team, is bringing joy and engagement to kids across Spokane during the summer.
“From our perspective on this, the reason that we partner with HEART is just because it is our little 10-year-old’s business, and we as business owners feel that it is important to give back to the community and we want her to see that, too. So that’s why we made this partnership. It’s really just for the community,” Sarah Welliver said.
HEART aims to support and meet the educational needs of students in short-term or temporary housing, maintaining consistency in students’ education.
Homeless education facilitators bring lunches from the district’s high schools along with lesson plans, social-emotional activities, STEM projects and all-around fun.
HEART’s mission primarily focuses on school-year engagement, but these activities are bridging the gap between June and September, preparing students for the upcoming year and helping them be educated on what resources are available.
As part of the program, Lem’s on Thursday visited Family Promise, an emergency housing shelter in Spokane and one of four participating in the summer program. The goal of Family Promise is to connect homeless families with those in their own neighborhood to create support networks and reinforce the skills necessary to maintain housing.
Family Promise marketing and communications coordinator Gwyn Griffith said the shelter works to identify the needs of the guests, then setting them up with the stabilization or prevention programs.
And maybe a little bit of ice cream, too.
Editor’s note: This story was changed on July 12, 2024 to correct the spelling of Lemyn Welliver’s first name.