'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
A five-year-old boy named Edison Juel and his lemonade stand are currently taking over many hearts across the internet. Hailing from Seattle, Edison opened up a lemonade stand to raise money for the victims of the devastating Maui wildfire. So far, his earnings exceeded all expectations as the kid ended up raising over 17,000 dollars.
Edison Juel had decided to open a shop for the victims of the wildfire after hearing about the devastation that wreaked havoc on the island of Maui. After the popularity of Edison's lemonade stand became skyrocketed, his mother, Ami Juel, began posting updates on the stand online to attract social media attention.
Edison Juel's lemonade stand has currently raised over $17,000
On August 20, Ami Juel shared an Instagram post that detailed the journey of how the five-year-old came to know about the devastating wildfires and decided to help. Their family was in Hawaii the week before and had even been in Lahaina in January, so they talked about the fires that seared through the island.
According to USA Today, Edison even asked his parents to turn off the news reports on the fire as it made him sad. Ami Juel mentioned the following in her Instagram post's caption:
"He kept asking questions this last week, clearly trying to reconcile his belief in the world being fully good with something that is so awful."
She added:
"He’d ask if kids had really lost all their toys, or their bed, and then drop it, the issue clearly on his mind, but hard to process."
One day, during a night walk, Edison pitched the idea of a lemonade stand, where all funds would be used to help the kids in Lahaina to his parents, who were both on board with the plan. With the help of his parents, the five-year-old from Seattle opened up his lemonade stand and called it "Lemonade for Lahaina." Ami Juel told King 5 News:
"He wanted to sell like a restaurant, but we got him down to lemonade and popsicles"
The lemonade stand, which was open from 10 am to 6 pm sold popsicles, suckers, sparkling water, some of Edison's toys, and lemonade, both pink and yellow. Everything on the menu cost $1.
Ami wrote that she had hoped that the boy could get a chance to sell a couple of pitchers of lemonade and make at least $100. However, she was stunned by the response her son got. She wrote in the above embedded Instagram post:
"Throughout the day people just kept sending money. People kept stopping by. We ran out of cups multiple times, and lemonade, and ice. At one point there were 5 people waiting."
Althoug a lemonade cost $1 only, people were contributing much more than that. Ami wrote about a biker who gave $100 for a cup of lemonade and many others who gave $5. Apart from this, people were also buying virtual cups of lemonade and making their contributions through Venmo. Ami wrote:
"He now believes that he can make a difference and that he has good ideas and that it is important to care about our neighbors near and far."
Business from the stand, corporate matching from both Ami and her husband's jobs, and online donations helped Edison Juel make over $17,000 for the victims of the Maui wildfire. Ami Juel thanked everyone for their generous donations, further reminding her followers that "generosity begets generosity".
