When life-long friends Madeline, Noah and Benjamin Parker and Amy and Jonah Velnoskey saw their parents gearing up for a summer garage sale, they wanted to be involved.
They decided to host a lemonade stand — but with a purpose.
They would sell beverages and snacks and donate all of the money they raised to Lutheran Disaster Response’s relief efforts in Moore, Okla. In May 2013, tornadoes decimated the small town outside of Oklahoma City — killing 23 people and injuring hundreds more.
“They’ve learned through Sunday school and through vacation Bible school to be generous,” says Emily Velnoskey, Amy and Jonah’s mom. “They’ve learned to be selfless givers and to consider others.”
The kids made a large, poster board display calling their lemonade stand The Charity Café. Even 3-year-old Benjamin got in on the action — drawing a scribble tornado on the sign.
Then they set up shop at the end of the driveway. Sarah and Emily contributed Rice Crispy treats, Chex Mix and muffins, and the kids listed all of the options on a chalkboard easel but didn’t list prices. Instead, they encouraged shoppers to make donations of any amount.
“A lot of people were just really generous,” says Emily. “The kids told them what they were doing, and by the end of it, they had a little nut can they were using, and they could barely cram in all the money.”
Emily says she was proud to see her kids spending their time doing something that would benefit others. The weekend of the garage sale was especially hot, but, Emily says, “They just persevered.”
“We’re really proud of how generous they are, and it didn’t even occur to them that they could get a lot of money and keep it for themselves,” she continues. “They could have gone into the air conditioning to play the Wii at any time, but they didn’t.”
And when the weekend was over, the kids had raised $87.84 — and they couldn’t wait to make sure the money got passed on to the people who needed it. “They were excited to have it go right away,” Emily recalls. “My husband and I sent it straight to Lutheran Disaster Response online so it would get there quickly.”
