While vacationing on the Big Island of Hawaii with his family, five-year-old Edison "Eddie" Juel from Seattle learned about the devastating wildfires that took over a hundred lives and destroyed the town of Lahaina. Eddie’s mom Ami Juel says the news deeply affected him, so she explained the situation to him, reminding him that they’d visited Lahaina earlier that year.
Eddie really wanted to help the people of Lahaina, so he came up with the idea of running a lemonade stand to raise funds for the victims. Once they were back home in Seattle, with his parents’ help, he set up his stand on their busy street, selling lemonade, sparkling water, popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, candy, and some of his own toys. His mom posted on social media to help drive traffic to the stand, too. "Most people were like, 'this is so cool. What a great idea. We've been looking for ways to help,'" Ami says.
Soon, cars were lined up down the street to buy Eddie’s lemonade and he was able to generate a bunch of online donations, too. Through a combination of sales, online donations, and corporate matches from Ami and her husband’s workplaces, Eddie raised over $17-thousand! Eddie thoroughly enjoyed the experience and his parents are beyond proud of him, especially since it was all his idea. "Struck by how his generosity invited others to be generous," Ami says, “It was not something we could have orchestrated for him."
Source: USA TODAY