Local sisters get big surprise at lemonade stand raising money for Disney trip
MANSFIELD, Ohio (WJW) – They sold out of lemonade and their mom posted on social media, “this was the best day of their lives.”
The magical afternoon began with the dream of going to Disney World.
“They came and asked if I could take them to Disney World and I was like, ‘sure,’ thinking I would work overtime to come up with the money, but they were like, ‘we’ll help you,’” said Achante King.
King’s five daughters, who range from age two to 10, asked to have a lemonade stand to raise the money.
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They then selected enchanted-looking chairs and other items from their mothers event-planning business and set up the stand with a menu that includes different flavors of lemonade, fried Oreos and other candy treats.
“We wanted to help our mom since she’s going to work a lot lately,” said 10-year old Serenity Wilson.
Even her younger siblings were anxious to help out, including 9-year-old Nylah, 8-year-old Jnisas, 3-year-old Nova and 2-year-old Journey.
The neighborhood stand is located in front of their home at the corner of Altamont Avenue and Ford Street in Mansfield.
A local Mansfield police officer happened to see it and learned the girls might like to meet first responders.
The word went out over the radio and soon a procession of cruisers and fire trucks arrived at the stand.
“We were running from call to call and one of the dispatchers sent us a message on our computer,” said firefighter Matt Wurgler. “We just thought it was really cool to see them put in the initiative to raise that money and do something fun.”
At first, the family wasn’t sure what to think when they all showed up. “I was scared at first,” said Serenity.
The girls sold out of Oreos and lemonade that day, and have had a steady stream of customers since, getting them closer to their dream vacation.
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Video of the day is also getting a lot of attention on social media.
“It’s been a lot of people saying the girls are inspiring their kids to do things like that,” said King.
The response is not only making the family proud, but the entire community proud.
“It’s what we need in the world right now, is everyone to come together, help each other out and support each other,” said customer Reed Burkhart on Tuesday. “And it’s quite a set up they have.”
They say the experience was also important in building trust and friendships between the first responders and the people they serve.
“It’s always good when we can interact, when it’s not an emergency and crazy stuff is going on,” said Wurgler. “It was really good.”
The girls posted a big thank you to everyone for their support online and said it really was the best day of their lives.
“I’ve been watching TV and seeing how cops come up to people on birthdays or when they’re doing something and I’ve been wanting that to happen and it finally did,” said Serenity with a big smile.
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