WHITMAN — A young Whitman boy has made a difference for another family following the line-of-duty death of Weymouth Police Sgt. Michael Chesna.
Brady Proto, 7, guided by his heart, asked his mom if he could raise money to help Sgt. Chesna’s family.
On Monday, July 23, following a one-day weekend lemonade stand operation, Brady and his mother Kayla brought a check to the Weymouth Police department for $1,100 .
“We were returning from vacation and he saw on my phone the news highlights that Sgt. Chesna was killed,” said Proto.
Brady remembered televised services for Sgt. Sean Gannon of Yarmouth Police earlier this year. Gannon was also killed in the line of duty.
Brady had also worn a child-sized police outfit on Hero Day at the Duval Elementary School this year. His mom made a name tag in honor of Gannon that he pinned proudly to his shirt.
“Brady is very sweet. He is an old soul and wanted to help the officer’s family,” said Proto.
The whole event was only advertised on her Facebook page and the Whitman Pride Facebook page. At 9 a.m. with a sign on the street aiming toward their stand traffic began flowing from all over the South Shore. There was a continuous stream of locals, and police officers from all area towns stopping with donations for Officer Chesna’s family.
After six hours the family took a break, leaving the lemonade with a short note to help themselves and if they wished could leave a donation.
“I brought the money inside and when we returned later the jar that we left empty had an additional $100 added,” she said.
Proto is proud of her son’s efforts. She explains things to Brady and he knows that police and firefighters can sometimes get hurt or killed in their jobs. He knows they are here to protect us, she said. He looks up to first responders. She will continue her efforts to raise her children to respect police officers and not be fearful of them, she said.