By Sam Bigham
Motorists, bikers and pedestrians passing by the corner of Noble Avenue and Alice Street in Crafton may have noticed a group of youngsters selling lemonade and other refreshments on recent days. More importantly, the kids are donating profits to the UPMC Children’s Hospital.
Resident Dave Morgan was one such passerby who posted about his appreciation on social media.
“I wish I had more money to donate to these awesome kids because Children’s Hospital more than likely saved my daughter’s life several years ago. Great to see selfless kids out there making a difference no matter how small.”
The group of friends braved the heat to sell cool and refreshing drinks and that could have been the end of it: a simple case of some young entrepreneurs supplying goods that are in demand. Instead, the kids decided to donate their earnings.
“While we were making it we just thought it would be a really cool thing if we could donate some of the money to the Children’s Hospital,” said Mary Crawford, 12, who was one of four neighborhood friends running the stand July 26. On July 27 eight youngsters were helping out.
The stand was initially launched by Mary and friends Jasmine Barker and Norah Richardson, both also 12.
The Carlynton tweens have participated in school-organized charity activities such as car washes and food drives, but this is the first time that they are striking out on their own.
This growing group of neighborhood kids are having quite the success for a first-time venture.
They made $257 on July 25 and $90 another day, though they do not always earn that much. Some of the day’s earnings are used to purchase supplies and pay whomever was working that day while the rest are marked for donation.
Customers can buy lemonade for $1, pink lemonade for $1.50, Kool-Aid for $1.75 and ice water for 50 cents. Prices and flavors are subject to change. On July 27, the group decided fruit punch wasn’t selling well enough so they chose to mix up another flavor.
The lemonade stand opens sometime between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. and closes around 5 p.m. most days. The kids say they will run the stand for as many days as they can until school starts on Aug. 22.
Mary said she found out about Morgan’s social media post, stating his appreciation for their work, and that it meant a lot to them.
Reportedly, customers have said the lemonade is very good and this reporter agrees with them.