Lala’s Waffles, Crepes and Shakes donates $1,000 to local organization

It was a sweet ending to the weekend for one local non-profit, all thanks to the generosity of employees at a new local business.

Lala’s Waffles, Crepes and Shakes in Cathedral City presented a $1,000 check to Ezekiel’s Gift of Love, the Coachella Valley Down Syndrome Foundation.

The money was from tips collected at the store over the past month.

This comes after Lala’s donation jar was stolen off the counter.

READ: Charity tip jar stolen from Cathedral City business

Owner Karla Lara said with a little help from good samaritans, they were able to build the tips back up.

“We want to be able to show the rest of the businesses within the Coachella Valley that it’s never too little,” Lara said. “You can do more to help those families. We can make this community even stronger and better.”

Ezekiel’s Gift of Love Founder Yadira Reglacuevas said the money will be used for their upcoming World Down Syndrome Day event at Civic Center Park in Palm Desert. The event will be March 17 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

“It’s overwhelming,” Reglacuevas said. “We didn’t know what to expect. We’re very thankful. We never expected for it to be that big. We’re very grateful. Very, very grateful.”

Lara said tips from January will go towards the Desi Strong Foundation, helping children fighting cancer.