It started with a child in tears and no money for ice cream. Now a Massachusetts ice cream vendor is turning that moment into a fund for kids who come to her truck empty-handed.
Madyson Silvagnoli runs Maddy’s Ice Cream and More in Gardner, where she said the truck is a symbol of childhood and nostalgia for her customers and is as much about spreading joy as turning a profit.
In a video shared on Instagram, a child tells Silvagnoli he has “no dollars” to buy ice cream. She gives him a single scoop in a small cup with whipped cream and sprinkles.
“We don’t turn kids away when they don’t have money,” Silvagnoli says in the video. “You want an ice cream from Maddy, you get an ice cream from Maddy.”
“Buddy, you can always come up to the ice cream truck,” she tells him.
The video was viewed 9 million times, and the response online was immediate. Many people praised Silvagnoli, and commenters suggested donating to a fund to pay for free ice cream for other children without money.
Silvagnoli then added a product to her website called the No More Tears fund. She also launched a line of merchandise, with proceeds going to free ice cream giveaways.
The merchandise features smiling cartoon ice cream cones and cups with the tagline “kindness is always free,” taken from the caption of the viral video.
Speaking with Today, Silvagnoli said she “empathizes” with every child who comes up to the ice cream truck.
“The world is getting so scary, and I have three daughters, and nieces and nephews and all that, and I want them to have a bright future,” she said. “I feel like, if I start something so small they can see my kindness, pay it forward, and it just spreads.”
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