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Behind the ice cream sundaes, sprinkles and maraschino cherries at a Regina ice cream shop is a family facing some health issues.
Husband and wife Howard and Lana Lan are the owners of the Polar Palace ice cream shop. Howard is currently sick in the hospital.
Employee Jenna Westman set up a GoFundMe page to help the owners.
“Lana considers me family and I consider her family, so I would do that for my family,” said Westman.
She has been working at the shop for six years. Westman said she keeps coming back because of the staff, particularly Lana.
“She’s really nice,” Westman said. “She cares. I feel like an actual person working here rather than some number in corporate’s books. I like Lana a lot. She’s my favourite part besides the customers.”
Westman made the GoFundMe page so Lana could take time off work. Ideally, she wants to raise enough money for Lana to shut down the shop earlier for the season.
The shop is typically open from April to October.
“Closing early would mean that she can spend time with her son and Howard at the hospital, so she’s not here worrying and having to deal with other people,” said Westman.
To help cover for Howard’s absence, Westman and other staff took on more hours.
“Usually I just worked part-time in the evenings, but this past year I had to work full time, which I’m definitely not complaining — I got to spend more time with Lana,” Westman said. “So I worked almost every day for six hours a day, but it was nothing compared to what Lana has to do every day. She comes in so early and stays so late, until like 2 in the morning. Sometimes it’s crazy.”
The pair got emotional talking about their time working together.
“You’re going to make me cry,” said Westman.
Lana wiped tears from her eyes, looking at her employee proudly.
Westman has never done a GoFundMe before, so she set the initial goal at $200. They hit that goal the same day the fundraiser was posted.
“I was actually really overwhelmed,” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s so crazy that people saw my post.’
“I’ve been running the social media since last year. It’s been really fun to post things and interact with people, so being able to thank the people on GoFundMe was really nice.”
So far, she has raised more than $500. Westman is thankful for any donations, saying anything helps.
She said the community has stepped up and a lot of families have shown support by buying ice cream.
Donations can be made through the GoFundMe or directly at the shop at 1725 Dewdney Ave. E.
