8-year-old holds lemonade stand to raise money for a real-life fire truck for his community
Andrew Dembeck raised $200 for the Friendship Fire Company’s new truck
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An 8-year-old boy decided to give his lemonade stand earnings away for a huge cause: a real-life fire truck for his community.
Andrea Dembeck, from Danville, Pennsylvania, told FOX News that her third grader Andrew decided he wanted to run a lemonade stand this summer to help the Friendship Fire Company’s efforts to get a new ladder truck.
The Friendship Fire Company has been raising money for a new ladder truck since at least June 18, 2020, according to a GoFundMe page. According to the page, the truck is expected to cost $1.3 million.
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Dembeck told FOX that Andrew had done a lemonade stand two summers ago, before the coronavirus pandemic and when she suggested doing another stand this summer, she said Andrew "couldn’t wait to do it."
She added that she also encouraged her son to think about using his earnings to help someone else.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}8-year-old Andrew Dembeck raised $200 at his summer lemonade stand to help his local fire department get a new fire truck. Andrew (far right) is pictured with his siblings at the stand. (Courtesy of Andrea Dembeck)
"I think it’s just a great way to teach kids about making a product, selling it, making money and then, well what do we do with this money?" Dembeck told FOX. "We could buy something with it, you know, to treat yourselves. But I just feel like my job as a mother, the biggest role is to help my kids have the biggest heart they can and to want to help and not always put themselves first."
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Dembeck said that as she and Andrew talked about what he might want to raise money for, he landed on helping the Friendship Fire Company get its new fire truck. Dembeck explained to FOX that they drive by the fire department, where they have signs posted about their fundraiser.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Andrew delivered his earnings by hand to the Friendship Fire Company in Danville, Pennsylvania. Andrew is pictured with the fire chief. (Courtesy of Andrea Dembeck)
"I like fire trucks and when I saw a sign and when I saw how close they were, I wanted to give them the money so they could buy the fire truck," Andrew told FOX, adding, "And I really like to have lemonade stands."
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Aside from helping him buy the materials, Dembeck said Andrew "pretty much" ran the whole stand himself, selling one cup of lemonade for $0.50.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Andrew’s mom, Andrea, told FOX News that when they arrived to deliver their donation, the firefighters clapped for Andrew and let him and his siblings go inside the fire truck. (Courtesy of Andrea Dembeck)
In total, Andrew raised $200, which Dembeck said she "couldn’t believe."
"Not only was he trying to help a cause, but Andrew could really see the generosity in our community because so many people gave him much more than his $0.50 and were so happy to do it," Dembeck said.
She added: "It was just a really proud moment."
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Andrew then hand-delivered the money he had raised to the Friendship Fire Company. Dembeck said the firefighters clapped for Andrew when he got there and even let Andrew and his siblings go inside the department’s current fire truck and stand on the ladder.
"You could tell it just warmed their hearts," Dembeck said of the firefighters.