Wauwatosa Girl's Small Donation Leaves A Big Impact

WAUWATOSA, WI—No act of kindness is too big nor too small to have an impact. The Wauwatosa Historical Society received an envelope containing 50 cents from Cassie Locher, a 6-year-old Wauwatosa resident.

Cassie's parents, David and Robbie Locher started a tradition of having their daughters save money to go to charity a few years ago.

"We as a family try to do an act of kindness for every day of the Advent each year," Robbie said.

One of the activities is to give a monetary donation. The Locher family also does food drives, giving trees and other donations.

Cassie and her sister Madelyn, 8, each save a portion of their allowances throughout the year. Then they choose which charities they want to donate their money to during the holiday season.

This year Cassie chose the WHS and their family's church, St. Matthew's Lutheran in Wauwatosa.

The little girl had help from her mom with writing a note but she told Patch, "I wrote my own name."

Cassie said she gave money to WHS so they could buy more stuff for the dollhouse.

The family has attended various events at the WHS. Robbie explained WHS has a dollhouse replica of one of the Wauwatosa homes. The girls were allowed to help set it up for Christmas last year.

"We knew they were looking for someone special to work on the dollhouse. My girls asked if they were allowed to help," she said.

She added it was the dollhouse that led to a connection for Cassie.

The WHS posted on Facebook:

"Today in our mailbox we found an envelope containing 50 cents. Miss Cassie (age 6) saved a portion of her allowance every week this year. During the holiday season, she is allowed to decide where she would like to donate it. What a heartwarming gesture to receive a part of her treasure! We will be thanking her with a special WHS gift after our Executive Director, Alissa, wipes up her happy tears. Thank you Cassie and your sweetheart. Such a kind thing to do at such a young age."

"That makes me happy," Cassie said.

The hashtag, "BeLikeCassie" was created to inspire the community to give to others.

Giving back during the pandemic

Robbie told Patch the family has been brainstorming ways to give back safely during the pandemic.

"Our advent acts of kindness looks a bit different this year," she said.

It is trickier since they can't make homemade goodies to hand out to people. Yet the family is still doing their best to spread some holiday cheer.

"We want to share what we have with those who are struggling right now," Robbie said.

Madelyn told Patch they made homemade brownies for the city's trash and recycling staff on Thursday. This year the girls used gloves and masks while they made the treats. They also included a note to reassure the staff the brownies were made safely.

"Mom called us elves in the note to the trash people," Madelyn laughed.

Locher girls' guide to kindness

Robbie and her husband set aside money to donate to charity and hope the girls continue the tradition when they are older.

"It's always fun to share that with the kids. We want them to know we aren't just making them do this. We are doing it too," she said.

Madelyn wants other kids to know that picking a charity is easy and they should pick a recipient they like. Madelyn selected the Wisconsin Humane Society this year because she loves animals, especially corgi dogs.

Even if you can't give money, there is nothing better than something homemade. The girls have made pictures for nursing homes in the past.

Cassie said she made a pretty picture for her grandma with a Christmas Tree with Santa and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

"With the pandemic, we are having to readjust our usual activities," Robbie said.

The eldest daughter said one of her favorite socially distanced activities is paying for meals in the McDonald's drive-thru.

"We pay for their meal and then they pay for the person behind them. It spreads happiness all down the line," Madelyn said.