7-year-old selling lemonade to help purchase mother’s tombstone
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (WHNT) — A lemonade stand is a good way for children to make money, but the purpose behind 7-year-old Emouree Johnson’s lemonade stand is much deeper.
The second grader’s mother Karli died in March at the age of 29 and the sales from Johnson’s lemonade stand are raising money for her late mother’s tombstone.
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“I didn’t know just making a little lemonade would bring this many people to my house,” Emouree told News 19. “It’s fun, but it’s unbelievable at the same time.”
“It’s helping her heal, I know her momma is looking down on her and is so happy”,” said Johnson’s grandmother Jennifer Bordner.
Bordner’s daughter Karli is remembered as a kind-hearted person who would light up a room with her smile. Emouree just started selling her signature drinks this week and with the community’s help, she’s already raised nearly $10,000.
After a social media post about the lemonade stand, her grandmother says the community donated the tombstone and hundreds have swung by to grab the Emouree special.
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Bordner tells News 19 she’s grateful for the Jackson County community and the ongoing donations will help support Emouree’s future.
“I’ve just been amazed and have cried happy tears, felt a peaceful and happiness because everybody came to support my little granddaughter,” Bordner said. “That’s what I wanted the most for her to not be heartbroken because that’s my world.”
Emouree says beauty and make-up are her passions and she hopes to one day become a YouTube star. Family members explained how the second grader’s world was rocked after her mother died, but the stand is her way of honoring her mother Karli.
“I hope my daughter can see how amazing this is and how especially wonderful her daughter is,” Bordner told News 19. “Thank you to everyone and thank God because this was one of the most painful things I ever experienced and this community has helped me.”
If you’d like to donate to Emouree’s efforts, her lemonade stand will be open on Saturday, April 6. You can find her stand at 116 Worthington St. Scottsboro, AL 35768.
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