MANSFIELD — Five young girls, daughters of Achantee King, were met with a big surprise when their lemonade stand brought in a crowd.
Late last month, King’s five little ones, ages 10 to 2, asked to sell some cold drinks during a July heat wave. She remembered an old cart that had been sitting in a shed for about five years.
“I told them they could go to the shed and use whatever they wanted to use,” King recalled.
The girls Serenity Wilson (10), Nila Wilson (9), Genesis Wilson (8), Nova Curry (3), and Jury Curry (2), worked hard putting up their stand just outside the family’s home near Altamont and Ford Street.
“The girls had been asking me to take them to Disney for at least three years now,” King stated, “They said they wanted to help and came up with the idea to do a lemonade stand.”
King even had a poster printed to make it official, naming it SisterSister Lemonade Stand.
“Our goal is $10,000, but we still have a long way to go,” King said. “The plan is to raise the money for Disney World and turn their lemonade stand into a business and the girls into entrepreneurs.”
Their helpful idea took a turn for the better, as she was shocked to see the street lined with cars belonging to the local police department.
“Typically, we have patrols around our neighborhood, so seeing a couple driveby was no shock,” King said. “Then, they all just came around the corner.”
The girls were ecstatic to serve them lemonade. However, it didn’t stop there, as after the police came, the local firefighters pulled up, followed by the EMS squad.
“The girls were so happy. The support of our first responders absolutely made their day,” King affirmed, “For me, it felt like unity that day.”
King shared pictures and videos of the moment on her Facebook page for friends and family to see. The next day she discovered her post had nearly 8 million views and thousands of words of support from strangers around the world.
“We’re still trying to grasp the virality of the video,” She recalled, ““We went to sleep, and the next day it happened. There were a lot of people from all over trying to show their support.”
The video’s popularity led to an outpouring of opportunities for the family. Local businesses reached out, offering gifts to the girls, and several magazines contacted King. The girls were even invited to be vendors at local events.
The success of the lemonade stand even caught the attention of Fox 8 News in Cleveland.
“Fox 8 reached out and we scheduled a good date for the interview,” King said, “It was awesome just to see how my girls interacted with Fox 8 News, how well they interviewed under pressure.
“They had never done something like that before.”
Each of King’s daughters brought their unique personalities to the experience.
“My girls all have different personalities. One is all front-and-center when it comes to a camera. My other one wasn’t too into it, but she was happy to be there,” she said.
Beyond the excitement of the media’s attention, the lemonade stand provided valuable life lessons for King’s daughters.
“I think they learned how to communicate with others, because that is one thing I saw them engage with most — customer service,” King said. “There were times when, after the customer left, I would ask what they felt like they did right or wrong during the interaction. They would tell me, so they were definitely able to identify how to improve.”
The girls also learned about the kindness of strangers and the power of community support.
“They’ve been talking about the support they’ve received from a bunch of strangers. We’re loving every second of it still,” King said.