The reason 7-year-old Avery Huggins gave for deciding to open a lemonade stand was what was so compelling. I even asked him to repeat his answer because I wasn’t sure I heard him correctly. But he clearly and so very simply re-stated exactly what he said the first time:
“I saw a girl and her dad by the side of the road and the sign said, ‘Homeless.’ I didn’t know kids didn’t have a home,” he said.
It was a tough fact of life for young Prairie Trace Elementary first-grader Avery to blend in to his perception of the world. But assimilate he did, and that harsh realization prompted him to not look the other way.
Instead, he knew he needed to take decisive action.
Using his instinctually strong entrepreneurial spirit, he founded Lemons, Limes and Bow Ties – a lemonade stand. And he is open just one day a year, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 17 at the 146th Street and Hazel Dell Parkway Kroger store.
Half of the proceeds will benefit the Good Samaritan Network, which will in turn continue to provide a safety net for the girls and their fathers standing on the side of the road asking for help.
“I chose this charity because they help families who live in our neighborhood,” Avery said.
Avery’s lemonade effort is in concert with the national Lemonade Day program started five years ago. As part of the national Lemonade Day, Lemonade Day Indy holds a video contest for “lemonaders” to compete for seed money.
No surprise to me after talking to Avery on the phone, he walked away with a top-5 video award and a $250 check from the judges.
Avery proudly said, “Everyone tells me that this was a pretty impressive thing since I am only 7!”
In addition to $1 lemonade and lemon/lime cookies, Avery will also run a raffle with local businesses donating prizes to the winner.
When asked about the quality of the lemonade he would be serving, Avery was very convincing when he exclaimed, “My lemonade is best-in-the-galaxy good.”
For just a dollar, it seems like a trip to Kroger for “best-in-the-galaxy” lemonade is a short trip. For more information visit www.facebook.com/lemonslimesandbowties.
