A quick glance at the video makes it appear like a simple warm gesture from a motorcycle group, but the little girl selling lemonade is the daughter of a woman who helped save the lives of some of the members last year.
In September 2018, Daryn Sturch and her daughter Bryanne, were driving when they came across a bad accident involving multiple motorcyclists associated with the Milwaukee Iron Biker Group.
Sturch, who is a nurse in Chili, Indiana, said she felt obligated to help. She stopped to assist the bikers, some of whom were critically injured. She said she left when the paramedics arrived. Later, she decided to reach out to the group via Facebook to check on the status of the injured bikers. To her relief, all the injured survived.
“I started getting a lot of messages from bikers thanking me for being there that day,” she said.
A helping hand turns into a friendship
The messages turned into a little bit of a friendship, Sturch said, and a few of the bikers involved in the incident would check in on her occasionally, via social media.
“They are the first to cheer me on and root for me and let me know they are thinking of me,” Sturch said.
A year later, 8-year-old Bryanne decided to do what many children do to earn extra money in the summer — have a lemonade stand. Unfortunately, it got rained out.
The bikers saw Sturch’s post on social media and told her they would be in the area the next week and suggested Bryanne reopen her stand.
A strong unexpected show of support
On September 15, 30 bikers showed up at Bryanne’s lemonade stand, including some who were treated by Starch at the accident.
Starch said she was “completely and utterly overwhelmed” because she was only expecting five or six to show up.
“[Bryanne] was so happy and surprised, and afterwards she told me she thought there were nice people in the world.”
Starch said she also did not expect three of the accident victims to be in the ride, especially a rider named Amy, because she had stopped riding after the accident. Amy followed the riders in a truck.
“It was a good thing I wore waterproof mascara that day,” Starch said.
The bikers made her daughter’s day and made it unforgettable for her.
“I think it’s a perfect example of how just because you don’t look the same way or dress the same way or have the same hobbies or interests doesn’t mean we don’t have the same core values inside us,” Sturch said. “We shouldn’t make assumptions about people, we should just love each other.”