Belong & Contribute
Just being a kid
7-12
Pay It Forward: Lemonade stand for house fire victims
Photo and reporting by
Local News 8 (KIFI)
McKel Wheeler, 10, and her brother Bentlee, 7, ran a lemonade stand outside their Idaho Falls house all summer, selling cups at seventy-five cents apiece to raise money for a Bonneville County deputy whose family lost everything in a house fire. She started with the $26 she already had saved and decided that wasn't enough.
The parent said yes
Her mom, Jayme, let the stand run all summer without taking it over, telling a reporter she wants her kids working for what they have instead of having it handed to them.
Why we picked this one
McKel picked Jason White because he was the one who showed up when she was getting bullied, not because a fire made the news. That's the part worth noticing more than the $500 someone handed her for two lemonades.
Pick a number before the first cup is poured, not after. Every dollar that's left once the sugar and cups are paid for goes to whoever you picked, and when the stand closes for the season, tell your kid exactly what it bought them, groceries, a couch, a week of rent.
Read the full story at
Local News 8 (KIFI)
Where it happened:
Idaho Falls, Idaho
Next time your kid drags the folding table out for lemonade, ask them who it's actually for.