7-year-old raises $3K for charity with lemonade stand
At seven years old, Ruby Baker has gotten an early start at philanthropy, as she came up with the idea to use a lemonade stand to raise money for charity.
The stand, in combination with online fundraising and the support of a local business owner, exceeded all expectations raising $3,000 for the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Pittsburgh.
“We did a GoFundMe page a week before,” Amber Baker, Ruby's mother, said, explaining she preferred not to post her family's address publicly on Facebook. “We raised around $600.”
While the donations were pouring in online, the Bakers set up the stand, stocking it with lemonade, fruit punch, iced tea, hot dogs and water.
Ruby manned the booth along with her twin sister Lucy and 5-year-old sister Penny. After posting a message to the private neighborhood Facebook page, the girls opened for business, and the customers began teeming in.
Friends, family and neighbors came to patronize the little lemonade stand and the crowd continued to grow.
All together, the girls made $900 with the lemonade stand and an additional $565 through the GoFundMe page that was set up by their parents.
Meghan Sweeney, local McDonald's owner and Amber's cousin, matched the girls' with $1,535 to bring the total to $3,000.
The GoFundMe page is still active and can still accept additional donations for RMHC.
To contribute, go to https://www.gofundme.com/ruby039s-lemonade-stand-for-charity.
A full report will appear in the Cranberry Eagle.
