Neighbor stories

The 10 Sweetest Lemonade Stands in the Country

Written by Nick Brinkerhoff

Every year, thousand of kids (and their parents) turn to Nextdoor to spread the word about their lemonade stand. In recent years, an overwhelming number of the stands shared on Nextdoor are being hosted by little philanthropists who are focused on giving back to a local cause or organization close to their hearts.

In support of this wonderful trend and the official start of summer this month, we asked members to nominate their stand for the chance to be recognized as one of the nation’s 10 “sweetest.” After hundreds of amazing submissions, Nextdoor selected 10 winners based on creativity, passion and inspiration for the charity they chose to support, along with community involvement. The winners received a $500 donation from Nextdoor to the charity their lemonade stand was benefiting, lemonade stand decor and necessities, and the opportunity to participate in media interviews with press.

As a company, we love seeing the youngest of neighbors give back and get the community involved in their efforts. We believe change starts locally, and we embrace the opportunity to support young kids who invest in helping others. Nextdoor is all about bringing neighbors together to make communities better. Outstanding lemonade stands across the country are a perfect example of how we hope to see neighbors – even the youngest – build better communities. Now that’s sweet!

Let’s take a closer look at these 10 lemonade stands and their causes:

PRAIRIEVILLE, LA

The neighborhood kids of Nextdoor Lakeview Estates host lemonade stands three times a year to raise money for various causes, including recently raising over $2000 for one of their neighbor’s houses that burned down. This year, the group came together once again to host a lemonade stand to raise money for Wheels to Succeed, a group that provides custom bikes for children with disabilities. Disabled children often miss out on social and physical activities like bike riding because they do not have equipment that fits their needs. The kids of Lakeview Estates wanted to help all kids feel included, and thus chose Wheels to Succeed as their charity and were able to donate over $1,000 thanks to their June stand. 

FALMOUTH, ME

Over the last few years, Patrick and Max McCrann and neighbors Jon & Peter Kearns have been hosting lemonade stands to raise money for different causes. Previously they donated to the Falmouth Food Pantry, but this summer they hosted a stand to raise money for the Foundation for USP7 related diseases, a cause that is near and dear to their families. Patrick and Max’s 8-year-old cousin Tess has severe global development delay due to a gene mutation that is super rare (when they found out what Tess had, she was one of just 6 kids known to have this mutation in the world). The gene mutation causes severe development delay. Now, they are raising money so that doctors can individually study each kid to learn more about the mutation and hopefully find a cure. After their stand this June, Patrick, Max, Jon, and Peter were able to donate $1,100 to the Foundation for USP7 related diseases. 

HILLIARD, OH

Over the last two years, Ava, an elementary school student, and several of her friends have held a lemonade stand, with the goal to raise money for “sick kids”. The proceeds they have made have then been donated to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, which is a national childhood cancer foundation dedicated to raise funds for research into new treatments and cures for all children battling cancer. This year, they are also organizing a 5K run. It has brought a great group of girls together and they have seen so much support from the community in their sponsorships and support. This June, they raised over $1,200 for Alex’s Lemonade Stand. 

KATY, TX

Over the last year, Siddalee and her siblings have been raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in honor of Rhett, their brother who just finished 42 months of chemotherapy. Their goal is to raise $25k, all which will go specifically to childhood leukemia research in Houston. When Rhett was first diagnosed at almost 4 years old (he’s 7 now), he contracted a rare fungal infection as a result of his chemo and no immune system with a 1% chance to live. Doctors gave him an antibiotic they had never used before, which ended up miraculously working! Rhett and his siblings’ successful June lemonade stand raised over $1,000 for childhood cancer research. 

LOUISVILLE, KY

Charles has been taught from a young age the value of a good education and the importance of giving back to those who help make his life better. What started out as a lemonade stand to raise money for his own college fund, soon became something more. As Charles started raising money he realized he wanted to give it back to the community in some way. He has always been inspired – and felt safe – because of the men and women who risk their lives every day to keep his community safe at the local Shively Police Department. His mom says, “not one day goes by where we don’t at least thank an officer or public servant that we so much appreciate everything that they do for us. Charles would love to donate all proceeds of our lemonade stand to our local officers.” Charles even received a surprise appearance from the Shively Police Department during his sale and raised $700!

HUNTINGTON, NY

Nearly 7 years ago, Andrea Herrick lost her Yorkie in a vicious attack at a local dog park in Long Island. She promised that day that she’d dedicate her life to rescuing animals in need, and thanks to her organization PRoud Rescuers of PR, she’s been able to keep her promise. To help raise money for the organization and rescue more animals, Andrea’s friend’s young daughters have been hosting lemonade stands. This June, the girls came together to host a stand for a young puppy name Hippie who was hit by a car in Carolina, Puerto Rico and found wounded from the waist down. The girls raised over $1,400 to help offset Hippie’s medical expenses. 

CENTENNIAL, CO

Tessa, Taia, Jadyn, Kendall and Gabby are 3rd graders at Mark Twain Elementary and are giving back to their beloved school in a big way. The school does not currently have a clean water filtration system and they want to cut down on the use of plastic water bottles. So, the girls decided to host a lemonade stand on their days off from school to raise the $2000 needed for a filtration system. With $400 already in the bank from their first lemonade stand, the girls set out to raise the remaining $1600 this June. Thanks to their amazing community, the girls exceeded their goal of $2,000 and will be using the money to purchase their school’s first water filtration system!

GREENSBORO, NC

William is passionate about ending hunger locally, so he used lemonade stands to raise money for fellow kids at Jesse Wharton Elementary School. Last year as a 4th grader, William hosted a lemonade stand and collected 16 bags of food and about $400 in money and gift cards for his school so no kid would go without food at lunch. He’s also hosted a stand to raise money for book bags that he fills with school supplies for children at his school who are not able to afford new school supplies each year. He worked with the office to have the book bags placed in the office for easy access by any student who needed one. With the help of his community, William raised another $1,200 this June which he will use towards filling additional food and book bags for his fellow classmates. 

SAN DIEGO, CA

Hudson and his best friend Eli have hosted several stands over the last few years to give back to their local community. The boys’ first few stands gave back to their elementary school. The funds raised from the stands went towards a pickle-ball court, artificial grass for the school yard, and an after-school cooking club that the boys started to teach kids (and adults) how to cook healthy meals. This June, the boys hosted yet another stand to fundraise for their aquatic neighbors, the Vaquita Porpoises found only in the northern Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) in Mexico. Less than 30 of these animals remain, making the Vaquita the most endangered marine mammal in the world. Lucky for the porpoises, Hudson and Eli are working hard to save them and raised over $1,300 for them. 

FORT WORTH, TX

In first grade, Gavin was the target of bullying from some of his classmates. The experience led to his own depression and a long recovery of learning to trust his classmates and find true friends to spend time with. As a way to help him cope and with hopes that he’d learn confidence and self-worth, his parents enrolled him in Taekwondo classes. Starting Taekwondo was a “game changer” for Gavin who learned to say “stop” to bullies, discover more about himself, and find something to look forward to three times a week. Now, as a future 6th grader, Gavin is determined to raise money so tht other kids can learn confidence, find new friends, and see attainable goals through Taekwondo. This June, Gavin raised over $1,200 for a scholarship fund at his Taekwondo school, Korean Tiger Martial Arts, that will allow local kids to attend classes each summer. 

1 Comment

  • Thank you nextdoor, for helping us, and for sharing our little ones stories, and a huge ty for donating to our local hero’s Shively police Dept, it means the world to us,. We just wanted to give you all a huge big ty and hug if we were near you we sure would,. You guys are all truly great and appreciate you so much!!! This was a great time with you and Charles really loved to give back to shively pd,,,ty so much for making an app where all of our kids can advertise there ? lemonaid stands, and do much more,, ty,,,ty,,,ty

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