Amazing Kids Feature: Aaron, aka "Yum Yum," from Wisconsin

We recently sat down with Aaron, an Amazing Kids nominee from Wisconsin. 

After reading A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park in school, Aaron was moved by Salva Dut’s story and wanted to do something to make a difference for the people of South Sudan. He told his parents about WFSS at the same time his mom told him that someone wanted to buy the caramel rolls that he baked in his grandmother’s honor. He began baking his grandmother’s iconic recipe and what he and his family call “Yum Yum Rolls.” When Aaron set out to sell Yum Yum Rolls to raise money for Water for South Sudan, he did not expect his fundraising idea to take off like it did. 

Aaron and his mom, Michele, started advertising his fundraiser to his school and got the word out about the Yum Yum Rolls to the whole town and surrounding communities. Aaron brought in samples of the Yum Yum Rolls to the whole teaching staff which quickly spread the word about his efforts. They started advertising on Facebook and within two weeks created an Instagram page and a website to interact with their community and take orders.

They included information about Water for South Sudan and photos of the Yum Yum Rolls, and let me tell you, it would be hard not to place an order after seeing how delicious they look. When people place an order, Aaron asks customers to post photos and reviews of the delicious treats; this helps get the word out and results in more orders. Not only do they sell Yum Yum Rolls to friends, family, and community members, people in the community place orders to be delivered to homeless shelters in the area. This benefits both South Sudan and the people in need within their own community. As a “Thank you,” community members also order Yum Yum Rolls to be delivered to local fire stations. 

As the number of orders grew, Aaron and his mom realized they needed a system to keep up. They chose Fridays as the last day to get orders in and assigned locations for people to come pick up their orders on the following Sundays. On his busiest day, Aaron received 22 orders, resulting in nearly nine hours of baking and a setup of banquet tables in his living room just to fit all of the orders! 

Aaron’s favorite part of this continuing fundraising experience has been the ability to positively impact people’s lives in South Sudan. He is learning about entrepreneurship, business, and ways to help people in need. He advises anyone thinking about fundraising for WFSS to just go for it! He also suggests getting a fundraising page up and running before starting the fundraising process and making sure to get the word out about your fundraiser. 

Aaron is about to start seventh grade and has a plethora of interests and hobbies. A second-degree black belt in karate, Aaron also participates in the Boy Scouts, plays the saxophone, and runs track and cross-country. His favorite subject in school is social studies and his family hosts a foreign exchange student every year, allowing Aaron to learn about other cultures. Perhaps not surprisingly, he is contemplating becoming a baker when he gets older.

Aaron’s ultimate goal is to raise $15,000 selling Yum Yum Rolls by his senior year of high school in order to fund the drilling of a new well in South Sudan. Aaron has already raised $3,092 to fund clean water and is ahead of schedule to reach his impressive goal. A huge thank you to Aaron, his family, and all of the people who support WFSS—you are all watering the seeds of change in South Sudan.

To learn more about Aaron’s efforts, check out his Facebook and Instagram pages @yumyumrolls4charity and his website www.yumyumrolls.com.