Kate’s “Lemon Lemon” Stand for Thailand
For those who don’t know us personally, you may have missed the wonderful news that we adopted a beautiful little girl from Thailand. After a very long and difficult process, our darling Kate finally joined our family at the end of 2016. We have been overjoyed to get to be Mama and Papa to our precious girl!
Since before we met our daughter, we hoped she would have a compassionate heart. We always dreamed of teaching her the importance of loving and serving others. As it turns out, compassion and empathy are two of her biggest gifts, and “helping people” is one of her favorite things to do!
At 5 years old, Kate is slowly starting to understand more about The Sound of Hope and the work we do around the world. While we were in Thailand for her adoption she got to meet our wonderful Thai-Karen house parents, and the girls from Baan Choo Jai (our Thailand Girls Home) too. They all call her their “little sister” – and seeing them together (photo above) was an incredible sight! Kate talks to them often via phone, and watches videos of them too. She is counting down the months until we can visit them again.
A few months ago, Kate began begging to have a “lemon lemon” (what she calls lemonade) stand and to have people give her “real money”. But when we asked what she wanted the “real money” for, she just shrugged her shoulders. We began sharing about a need for a water tank at the Girls’ Home in Thailand – and her eyes widened with excitement. “Maybe I give them some money from my lemon lemon stand!” she shouted excitedly. I asked again and again to be sure that’s what she wanted to do, but she was too busy jumping around the house and cheering at the idea! So, we got started!
With a little help from mama, Kate built her Lemonade & Donut stand. She painted her donation page with watercolors, and glued on a photo of the girls in Thailand. We gathered her supplies, and practiced what she would say to the people who came to her stand. “Oh, I would love some lemonade and donuts!” I would say. “How much are they?” Then Kate would respond enthusiastically, “Whatever you want! It help girls in Thailand! They need water to take bath, and for dere duckies, and dere garden!” – and she would beam with pride.
She told me to tell “all my friends” about her stand – so I started texting our neighbors. We set everything up in the summer sun, and we waited. And then a beautiful thing happened…
Our neighbors came pouring out to get their lemonade and donuts! As Kate shared about the girls in Thailand – her little pink money bucket began to fill up. First spare change… then dollar bills… then bigger bills went in! I watched as some of the older kids on our street looked at the photo, listened to Kate, and then ran home to get their wallets. As they dropped their own money into the bucket, my heart swelled.
By the end of the day, our precious girl had raised $46.86. It was enough to pay to build the full set of stairs (needed to clean the interior) in the water tank at the Girls’ Home! She was elated! But the story doesn’t end there. The next day, when we shared her photo on Facebook, another friend donated toward Kate’s cause online. $30 more (all the way from the Bahamas) would pay for the water tap for the tank. A few weeks later, we got a check in the mail with a note that it was for her lemonade stand. Another $100 (given by a friend in Arkansas) will pay for the milled rock that must be mixed with sand and cement to construct the tank.
With each dollar given, we get closer to our goal of meeting a very important need at our Girls’ Home. And every time a donation comes in, our daughter is learning just how big of an impact she can make in the world (even at 5 years old!)
Will you help our little girl change the world? Will you help her make a difference in the lives of 9 other little Thai girls – just like her? I would love nothing more than to tell her that SHE inspired enough people to meet this need – and to show her a finished water tank when we return to Thailand on our next trip!
To donate to Kate’s lemonade stand (or to read more about the project) – CLICK HERE. You can also send a check written to The Sound of Hope with “Kate’s lemonade stand” in the memo line to: The Sound of Hope, PO Box 320044, Birmingham, AL 35232.
Thank you for helping our little girl change the world!
For more ideas on how to cultivate a heart for charity in your children, check out this blog. If your child would like to host a lemonade stand (or any other creative fundraiser) for The Sound of Hope, then email us at info@thesoundofhope.org for more info! We would love to help empower them to give HOPE to children in need!<