Lemonade stands are one of those summer-specific staples that seem to disappear, much like a cold beverage on a hot day, after the school year starts.
Kids are in class, temperatures are dipping, and afternoons spent making posters and inflating balloons, the better to draw eyes and sales to the homegrown enterprise, have pretty much wrapped.
But, every now and again, the good brought about by a pitcher of citrusy sweetness stays sweet for months and even years to come.
Look to the stand that popped up on a residential Northridge street on the last day of July and first day of August. Charlie and Gavin Trainor, ages 8 and 9 respectively, wanted to sell doughnuts and lemonade from their driveway to honor their granddad Mike Rigley.
Mr. Rigley had recently undergone cancer treatment at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, and his grandsons wanted to thank the hospital and donate money to the institution's foundation in his honor. So they made and sold treats, a lot of treats, with the help of their family.
Their efforts paid off: $2,563.27 was raised over the two-day, driveway-based, kid-cute fundraiser. Mom Samantha Trainor says they went through about 120 cups of lemonade and 150 donuts (she quips that she knows the exact number, as she was the one helming the fryer).
The Scene
Want to find new things to do in Los Angeles? The Scene's lifestyle stories have you covered. Here's your go-to source on where the fun is across SoCal and for the weekend.
The boys presented the check to the medical center's foundation, which oversees a host of important efforts, from acquiring state-of-the-art equipment for St. Joseph's to education to nurse training.
Mr. Rigley is also "doing so well," says his daughter. You can see him at the right in the photo above.
As for the summertime lemonade stand? It's typically a fun excursion into the world of planning a daylong business for a kid, and a way to work for some pocket change. But as two Northridge brothers discovered this summer, that day or two can stretch much further, and for so much good, with a little heart and grandpa-loving can-do.
