Many have felt helpless and wondered what they could personally do to help support the police department.
It took just one small act for a few local Dallas-area girls to make a big difference. Lauren Roach, 12, and Landry Nelon, 11, decided that they could help in their own way.
“We felt really bad for all the victims’ families,” said Lauren. “We thought we would host a lemonade stand and raise about $100 to donate.”
The girls and the neighborhood kids.
It didn’t take long, though. Between neighbors driving by on the street and their mothers posting on their neighborhood’s Nextdoor website, the girls quickly raised over $5,000.
At that point, Lauren and Landry realized that they could raise a lot more money than they first expected.
Two other girls, Emmy Roberts, and her sister, Lily, also helped. Their mothers said that the response was incredible.
“People were just driving by,” said Lauren’s mother, Tracey. “They didn’t want lemonade, they didn’t want anything. Neighbors were just giving them twenties, fifties, you name it, just giving money. And everybody saying, ‘Back the blue, back the blue, we support Dallas, we support families, help Dallas become a better place.'”
All told, the girls’ lemonade stand raised over $10,000 in two days for the Dallas Police Department and the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Police, thanks to generous neighbors and a matching gift from their church.
The girls with a supporter. All told, they raised over $10,000 for the Dallas Police Department.
“We just really feel that every little penny counted,” Landry said. Her mother, Kimberly, was just glad that the girls could do their part to help the police department and the families of the officers.
“It just gives me hope,” said Kimberly. “It gives me hope that there is some good in this world, and that our daughters got to be a part of it.”
To donate to the fallen officers’ families and injured officers, follow the resources below:
Originally reported by NBC Dallas.
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