Howdy Homemade . (Photo by Kathy Tran)
Supporters rallied for beloved ice cream shop, Howdy Handmade, and raised more than $75,000 in 10 days.
The ice cream shop, employed by adults with special needs, hit tough times during COVID-19 because they didn’t have a drive-thru and catering sales were down.
Organizer Jaxie Alt created the GoFundMe page on Sept. 1 and by Sept. 10, the donations came pouring in, surpassing the goal.
“WE HAVE HIT OUR GOAL!!!!” Alt wrote on the page. “I don’t even have the words to thank you all…some of you know Howdy well and some are strangers…together, you have saved Howdy Homemade…you have saved the jobs of the employees and you have given the owner what he needs to survive the fall and winter and come out stronger than ever. Thank you for your generosity and kindness and telling the Howdy Employees YOU MATTER and your mission matters. The Howdy Owner, Tom Landis, and all the employees are blown away.”
Owner Tom Landis created the ice cream shop in 2015.
Tom Landis, founder of Howdy Homemade. (Photo By Kathy Tran)
“We want to play on our employees’ strengths,” Landis said in an Advocate article. “They might not be the fastest, but, man, what they can do is be super friendly.”
A small business gets to live another day thanks to loyal customers.
