Todd Carson was born three months premature. He was quickly diagnosed with cerebral palsy and has been confined to a wheelchair all of his 39-years.
But his physical challenges didn’t stop him from thwarting the efforts of a despicable thief. He is determined to overcome his challenges and help others.
Carson has worked at Auntie Anne’s pretzel shop inside of Summit Mall in Ohio for about the last two decades. His favorite aspect of the job, if you don’t count the cinnamon and sugar pretzels, is collecting money for charities that are selected by Auntie Anne’s.
“I love doing charity work,” said Todd. “There’s fluid on my brain so occasionally they have to go in and repair the shunt, but whatever charity work they want us to do I’ll gladly do it.”
For the last seven years, donations from Auntie Anne’s have been directed to Alex’s Lemonade Stand. It is a foundation fighting pediatric cancer and the beneficiary of the 2018 Fox 8 Fox Trot 5k run and 1 mile walk.
“They do wonderful work,” said Todd, “I’m glad to help them out every year.”
Carson said that he was disappointed when he heard that a thief stole donation money that was to go to Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
“I didn’t think that was right,” said Todd.
On Sunday July 8th, a man was captured on surveillance cameras stealing a donation box worth $75, filled with about $75 in cash from the Auntie Anne’s at Southpark Mall in Strongsville after closing time.
After the story aired on a local news channel, the culprit turned himself in to the Strongsville police. He will face two theft charges.
Carson and his colleagues are just stepping up their effort to replace the stolen money.
“We figure we’re just gonna work all the harder and Todd works very hard every day at it, so we’re just gonna earn it back,” said Duane Ruegsegger, manager at Auntie Anne’s Summit Mall.
Since 2011, Auntie Anne’s stores across the country have donated 3.7 million dollars to Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Todd says no petty thief will ever stop them from helping others.
“I’ll gladly help out and raise money for them,” said Todd. “Auntie Anne’s is a wonderful company to work for.”
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