Lemonade for a Cause: Four-year-old donates lemonade sales to UVP

By Anthony Bui

On a warm summer day last year in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Graham, age 4, and his cousin Megan, age 9, set up shop on the curb in front of Graham’s house to sell lemonade.

But while most kids beam at the thought of the money they’ll get after selling lemonade and what they can buy with it, Graham was excited for a different reason.

It all started when Graham and his mom, Molly, were looking through “LIFE 100 Photographs that Changed the World.” Graham’s curiosity heightened on page 75.

“It was sad to see,” his mom said, “he was so curious about those boys and the child’s hands. I explained to him that those kids were hungry and that they needed money to help their tummies get full.”

A few days later Graham decided to have a lemonade stand. He and his mom talked and decided they would raise some money to send to those children. They went online and found the Uganda Village Project, and Graham decided that it was the right place to send it.

After a few hours of calling out to cars and making signs, Graham and his cousin brought in $35, selling lemonade at 25 cents a cup, along with rice crispy treats and cupcakes. 

Some days after the lemonade stand, Graham said to his mom, out of the blue, “mom, are those kids hungry anymore?”

“I said yes,” his mom tells us, “he was excited to hear back from UVP; it let him know that the money really went somewhere. I try to remind him when he has food left on his place, or when he really wants something that he does not need, or when he leaves the water running too long, to think of those kids. We are so lucky.”

A year later, Graham and his mom took the same book out. He saw the pictures of those same boys and said, “they don’t look like that anymore, right mom, because we sent them money?” Graham is thinking about holding another lemonade stand soon.

Uganda Village Project would like to thank Graham, his mother, and Megan for their generous support. Every little bit helps! 

Set up your own lemonade stand and consider donating to Uganda Village Project by visiting http://www.ugandavillageproject.org/get-involved/donate