There are few things more synonymous with childhood than lemonade stands in the summer. Heading out to the curb with your friends or siblings is a great way to get some money for trading cards (or whatever wild things kids are buying now)! It’s an innocent and adorable thing to see, but some people view it as a target.
Two kids were enjoying their lemonade stand success when they became the target of a criminal.
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Elias and Katelyn Smidt are twins and they were doing really well with their lemonade stand profits when something horrible happened. The two are from Iowa and their mom had helped them get everything set up and it was, as you can imagine, adorable.
They had a sign, all their ingredients, and a ton of excitement!
They had people stopping by all day to get a little liquid refreshment when something terrible happened, however. They were sitting in their chairs when a potential customer pulled up.
A woman hopped out of a car and snatched their tip jar!
“UNTIL….one bad apple. They drove up, Katelyn asked if she wanted lemonade. The girl snatched the tip jar and jumped back in the car and squealed away…..with all the kids money.”
Karen, their mom, saw the whole thing happen. Two people literally targeted her kid’s lemonade stand and robbed it! She ended up calling the police department soon after and the Ames Police Department started an investigation.
Officer Celena Rohland heard the story and knew that she could help.
Officer Rohland got to work going to all sorts of local businesses in the area. Over the next few days, she was able to get fire department teams, other police officers, and local businesses to show up in support of the twins who had all their money stolen!
The people coming in did a lot to help the kids learn to trust again.
As a kid, that sort of experience can lead to distrust and fear that follows them into adulthood. With Officer Rohland and her actions, it brought smiles back to their face.
“Officer Rohland and the first responders of our community changed the tides when they showed up to show their support after the robbery,” Smidt told Fox News. “Our kids went from scared and unsure how to trust the next person…to wide-eyed, smiling and so excited to serve them lemonade.
They ended up doing REALLY well!
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“Our street was filled with police cars and firetrucks and a whole lot of smiles. Because of those first responders, our kids found a renewed sense of energy and wanted to open their stand the next day…and the next day. Our community showed up in a big way and we are and continue to be overwhelmed by the support.” – Western Journal
The lemonade was all free, they just accepted tips. All the money was going to be donated to the Shop with a Cop foundation, too! The money they raised would help disadvantaged families get the things they needed for the holidays and a cop would go out shopping with them as a friend!
This lesson sure was a good one for the twins!
“Life is never without hard parts,” Smidt said. “The way our community has showed up has absolutely given our kids something they will remember for a lifetime.
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Check out the video below!
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