One Carolina Forest 12-year-old has raised thousands for folks in her neighborhood, by turning lemons into lemonade. Hayley Mayer raised $1,300 alone for a family who lost their home in a fire two weeks ago.
When Hayley found out her neighbor’s home burned in a fire, she did the first thing she could to help — a lemonade stand.
“It will really help them like buy toys and stuff for them,” she said. “So, they’re just not like upset.”
With some help from her sister, Krista, 3 lemonade stands and a bake sale helped the family who was displaced from their home in The Farm neighborhood.
Historically, kids have used lemonade stands to earn some spending money, but for Hayley, her lemonade stands are for different reasons.
“I’d rather do it for someone else than me because their reaction is better than mine, because like, I’d probably just buy toys with it, but they need it,” said Mayer.
This isn’t the first time she’s helped. She also had a lemonade stand for her neighbor who was diagnosed with brain cancer.
“It was just a beautiful, beautiful thing for someone so young to be able to give us,” said Michelle Michalos, the wife of Takis Michalos, who was diagnosed with brain cancer. “I mean, it made us cry.”
Michalos says it helped them when they struggled to pay bills.
“He really appreciated it, and he gave me a thank you card and it was made out of stickers and I loved it,” said Mayer.
The Mayer family plans to present the money to the family in The Farm neighborhood who was displaced by the fire next week.
They’ll also give the family a wreath made by Hayley’s mom, Michelle Mayer. It reads: “Home is where your heart is.”
