How much does it take to fund an adoption? For Tristan Jacobson of Springfield, Missouri, the price is one dollar, and a lot of love.
Tristan sells lemonade on his front yard, happily mixing tiny packets of powder with cold water to serve to his customers. The 9-year old is determined to help finance the legal fees that will facilitate his adoption, says a news report from The Springfield News-Leader.
“She will be my parent,” Tristan says of Donnie Davis.
I’m happy because I have a new mom who loves me.
Tristan, who attends Williams Elementary School, says his lemonade business isn’t a problem – his favorite subject is Math, and he enjoys figuring. “I’m in fractions now. It’s easy for me,” he says.
Davis and her husband Jimmy have been Tristan’s kinship guardians since he was 5 years old. They need at least $5,000 for legal and adoption fees.
“It means everything. He is absolutely our son. He is in our hearts,” she said. “This is more for reassurance for him, knowing that he has his forever family and he has our name.”
Tristan has been in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks for over two years. Chelsea Dykman, Program Director, says of Davis, “She came in hoping to get him more positive people in his life.” Dykman explains that when Tristan was 4 years old, his biological mother had custody of him. When the arrangement did not work out, Davis was assigned as his kinship guardian.
Davis held a yard sale Saturday, alongside Tristan’s lemonade stand. Both business ventures raised a total of $7,100. A fundraiser on YouCaring.com named “Tristan’s Adoption Fund” has garnered more than $6,900 in donations.
“There’s not enough words to say ‘thank you’ to everyone who has shown support or given us donations,” Davis said. “Everyone has made this possible. We will make sure this child will forever be ours.” She went on to say that any extra funds raised will go towards Tristan’s education.
