The local community of Scottsboro in Jackson County, Alabama, has rallied around seven-year-old Emouree Johnson’s lemonade stand for a special reason.
Emouree’s efforts aren’t just about making pocket money: she’s attempting to raise funds to pay for her late mother’s headstone.
Emouree’s mother, Karli Bordner, died unexpectedly in March this year at just 29 years of age, the family told WAFF48 news.
Emouree began the venture all by herself, her grandmother, Jennifer Bordner, said. She started by charging $1 a cup.
But after a social media post about Emouree’s cause went viral, people started giving her extra tips over $100 in exchange for the lemonade.
“I’ve just been amazed,” Jennifer Bordner told WAFF48. “Cried happy tears.”
This 7-year-old’s strength will move you to tears. After Emouree Johnson’s mom, Karli, passed away in March, she decided to start a lemonade stand to pay for her mom’s tombstone. Scottsboro has rallied around her in the most touching way. pic.twitter.com/gKINEzQo5s
— AL.com (@aldotcom) April 6, 2024
According to Emouree’s family, they’ve since raised just shy of $10,000 for the burial.
When news about Emouree’s venture spread, several monument companies reached out to the family, offering to donate headstones for Karli Bordner. The money Emouree has raised can now be put to use for other expenses.
“She knows that mommy is OK now. She knows that she’s going to be OK, and everybody cares and loves her,” Jennifer Bordner said. “All these people showing all this and trying to help, it’s actually helping heal the whole family.”
Emouree said she thinks her mother would be proud of her business initiative.
“She would say I’m doing good,” Emouree said.
The family’s GoFundMe page has already raised a further $3,500 that the family says will go towards funeral expenses.
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