Ohio girl’s $768 lemonade stand grows into nonprofit that raises over $5 million for hospitals

Photo: Payton’s Lemonade Stand/ Instagram What started with one little lemonade stand in Ohio has become a powerful source of comfort for children facing illness, homelessness, foster care and other hardships. In the summer of 2018, six-year-old Payton Obert raised $768 by selling lemonade and used every dollar to buy new toys for patients at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Eight years later, her idea has grown into Payton’s Lemonade Stand, a registered nonprofit that has generated more than $5 million in cash and donated goods for over 40 local organisations, according to Payton’s Lemonade Stand's website and the Cincinnati Open.A teddy bear that inspired a missionPayton’s wish to help children at the hospital came from personal experience. Years earlier, she had been a patient at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and received a teddy bear during her stay. The toy offered comfort at a difficult time, and she continued to keep it beside her even after returning home. That small act of kindness stayed with her. When Payton set up her first lemonade stand in 2018, she was not hoping to earn money for herself. She wanted other children in hospital rooms to r...