OGDEN, Utah — Quarbin DeGroshe, a 21-year-old man from Duchesne County with Down syndrome, set up a lemonade stand in front of his godmother's house in Ogden on June 26 hoping to raise enough money to visit Lagoon Amusement Park.
Just two days later, the fruits of his labor paid off.
After his story was featured by FOX 13 News and shared on social media, Lagoon immediately reached out and offered to treat Quarbin and his entire family to a day at the park.
“I feel happy — and my family’s here,” Quarbin said, during his visit to Lagoon several weeks later.
I joined Quarbin at Lagoon on his special day, where we rode several attractions together. I opted out for the park’s biggest thrill rides. Quarbin was definitely braver than I was.
Quarbin spends his summers in Ogden with his godmother, Angela Wigger. He had set out to raise $190, enough to cover tickets for himself, a family member, and a friend with Down syndrome who might not otherwise be able to afford to go.
This is the second summer Quarbin has set up a lemonade stand in front of Wigger’s house.
Lemonade stand helps Ogden man with Down syndrome get to Lagoon:
“He lives with his sister in Duchesne part of the time, and then comes out here for summertime,” Wigger said. “I was basically his mom’s best friend, and when she passed away, I kind of took over taking care of him during the summer and things like that.”
For Lagoon, bringing Quarbin and his family to the park was an easy decision.
“His story touched all of us,” said Julie Freed, director of special events at Lagoon. “I have a two-year-old — and hearing that he lost his mom just breaks my heart. The fact that he wanted to raise money to come to Lagoon is just incredible.”
His sister, who joined him for the day, said she couldn’t be more proud.
“I’m very proud of all the effort and the hard work he's put in and wanting to do it himself, mixing it and selling it, and counting money,” she said. “So we're just super proud of him and hope he has a great time today.”
