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Justin El-Diwany woke up at 4 a.m. on April 26 and asked his mother to drive him to the area's first Krispy Kreme doughnut store, which was opening that morning near Prospect Road and Lawrence Expressway.
El-Diwany likes donuts. He likes the Saratoga Youth Commission even more.
El-Diwany, an eighth-grader at Redwood Middle School, has been a youth commissioner for a year. When he heard that the new doughnut store was going to donate 10 percent of its first-day proceeds to the Saratoga Youth Commission, he could not wait to show his support.
Diwany reached the Krispy Kreme store at 4:30 a.m.
"I was the 13th person in line. Very soon there were about 200 people behind me. Some were pressing up against the glass window," El-Diwany said.
For his pains, El-Diwany got a free T-shirt. His mother got a free coffee mug and some coffee coupons. "I bought two dozen doughnuts. I felt good that I could show my support," he said.
El-Diwany said he had told all his friends in school about the Krispy Kreme opening and how the youth commission would benefit from the first day's sales.
The 14 youth commissioners also distributed flyers telling people about the event.
"I hope that the money is used for the teen program. I want to see the Warner Hutton teen after-school program come back," El-Diwany said.
Adam Henig, the city's recreation coordinator, said he is excited that the youth commission will be getting some money.
"We are not sure what the amount is going to be," he said.
The youth commission costs the city about $50,000 annually. The commission organizes concerts, dances and the occasional lecture series.
Rachel Brady, spokeswoman for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, said that the Saratoga Youth Commission will get a check within the next three weeks.
"As for opening day numbers, we normally don't make that information public," Brady said.
She said that the company looks forward to supporting local nonprofit groups. "We try to help the community every possible way we can," she said.
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