Two siblings attempted to raise funds (with a little help from their dad) for the Make-a-Wish foundation by setting up a lemonade stand at the corner of Stevenson Ranch Parkway and Holmes Place on Sunday.
The two kids, Leialoha and Kara Carlos, gave away energy drinks and lemonade for free, but were accepting donations to go toward Make-a-Wish. The stand drew a small crowd and even the attention of Christina Coughenour, whose son is a recipient of the foundation. Coughenour said she thought the idea was great and she’s happy to see them bring local attention to the foundation because, “Make A Wish is something I think that people don’t always remember to donate to.”
“I think for us, I think it gave my son a lot of hope,” said Coughenour. “And it gave him something to look forward to… when he was in treatment.”
Coughenour said her son is now seven years in remission from cancer.
Leialoha and Kara’s father, Ka’ohele Carlos, said the girls’ grandfather had died the week prior and he, and the girls, thought something community-based would be the best honor to him.
“Obviously we’re very sad. But, you know, I’m trying to like, spin it into something positive. So I’m from Hawaii, that’s where he lived his life,” said Carlos. “And he was very, very much into the Hawaiian community, being Hawaiian himself, as well as [us] and very giving, always giving back to the community. And so this is kind of our way to honor him.”
Leialoha and Kara said this isn’t their first lemonade stand and that they’re taking lessons learned from a previously successful venture to ensure success for this one.
“It went really well,” said Leialoha.
“We had lots of customers and we made $76,” said Kara.
Carlos said he can’t take all the credit for the idea.
“It was actually their ideas,” said Carlos. “So I told them, ‘During summer break, we’re gonna do something to give back to the community.’ And so they made a list of things to do and lemonade stand was at the top of it, and then, you know, and when my father passed, they just thought, ‘Alright, well, today’s the day, we’re gonna start putting this together.’”
