A couple in Tampa, Florida named Joe and Jenn De La Sala lost their house in a fire two years ago. They used the insurance money to rebuild, but their contractor scammed them. He did half the work, and took off with their money.
They’ve been trying to scrape together enough to finish it since then, so their 10-year-old daughter Alyssa recently decided to help — by opening a lemonade stand. Which is cute, but obviously you can’t raise THAT much selling lemonade.
Except Alyssa managed to get some free advertising by writing a letter to her favorite radio show. After they read it on the air, hundreds of people wanted to help.
Alyssa started selling lemonade at 9:00 A.M. on Saturday, and people from all over Tampa showed up. One person paid a thousand bucks for one glass of lemonade; another paid $500; and in six hours, Alyssa raised about $15,000.
Her family still needs to come up with a lot more to finish the house, but it’s a good start. They’re also trying to raise money online. You can donate at GoFundMe.com/AlyssasLemonade.
