We all know the saying, “When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.” Two local students took that old adage one step further by taking that lemonade, selling it, and donating the profits to their elementary school’s library.
Village Elementary School’s PTO hosted its annual art auction on Friday, April 22, 2016, and Walker Gettel’s parents were the lucky silent auction winners of the coveted lemonade stand, which was made by Mrs. Couture’s first grade class.
Walker, who’s in Mrs. Marsten’s second grade class, was “so excited” to discover that he now had his very own lemonade stand. “It was in the back of my dad’s truck,” he explained, “and my dad said, ‘I have a surprise for you.’ Then he took me to the garage, and I saw this huge lemonade stand!”
The very next day after his parents presented him with the lemonade stand, Walker, as one might suspect, was ready and eager to start selling lemonade just like any other kid would want to do. Walker, however, isn’t the average second grader. Instead of fantasizing about how he was going to spend his lemonade sales fortune, Walker, along with the help of his friend, Lilah Cade, decided to give back to his beloved Village Elementary School.
Instead of being focused on buying goods for themselves, the pair agreed that their school library would be the recipient of their hard earned sales money.
Lilah, a first grader in Mrs. Couture’s class, was proud of the lemonade stand her class helped create. She especially enjoyed painting the stand, and painting the anchor garland that adorned it. Lilah said she felt “so happy” when she found out that her class’ art auction project found a home at her good friend Walker’s house.
Together Walker and Lilah sold both yellow and pink lemonade to patrons who passed by their Coronado corner. Their pricing system was a little unorthodox, telling customers that the cost of lemonade was “between five cents and a dollar,” but they graciously accepted all payments, both big and small.
Walker explained why he and Lilah chose to donate their proceeds to the school. “They already closed down the art class and the music class. We don’t want them to close down the ECDC, then this school, then the middle school, and then the high school,” he said. Rather than thinking about all of the toys and games he could buy for his own use, Walker instead imagined what the school library could do with extra money.
Lilah, when asked why she and Walker decided to give their hard earned lemonade proceeds to the school library, said she “wanted to make it [Village Elementary School] a better place.” “Happy” is the singular word Lilah used to articulate how the whole experience about donating money made her feel.
Walker’s father, Court Gettel, said, “It was really great,” watching his son and his friend not only enjoying the new lemonade stand, but also becoming little entrepreneurs and philanthropists. He credited Lilah with having “supreme sales skills” and Walker with having “supreme marketing skills.” “They put out great signs, and did arts and crafts beforehand to build the signs. It was just really neat to watch them work together,” he said with pride, adding, “especially since they’re neighbors, and they get along so well.”
Lilah’s mother, Jada Cade, said, “I’m really proud of her. It was a really neat, full-circle moment because her class is the one that made the lemonade stand. It just so happened that our friends purchased it at the auction, and it just seemed like such a great way to support the school all around, and get the kids involved.” She described the kids’ choice of bestowing their earnings as “such an easy decision” for them.
Walker said he thinks the school will “feel proud or maybe happy” about the fact that he and Lilah chose to donate their hard earned lemonade sales to the school’s library. Principal Whitney DeSantis wholeheartedly echoed that sentiment without any maybes. She said, “This is so fantastic to know that the kids are so happy here, that they think about their school on the weekends, and that they think about how they can help provide more library books to our library. We’re very grateful, and they’re very young. What’s really cool is if they’re this way now, what are they going to be like when they’re in fifth grade and when they get to middle school? These are the kinds of kids that we’re just so proud to have in our district.”
Walker and Lilah donated about $130 toward the school library. What kinds of books are they hoping they might see on the library’s shelves? “I like all of the history books. I’m really into history,” Walker said. Lilah said she is hoping to see more comic style books and more chapter books.
Lilah described the whole experience of selling lemonade as “fun.” How wonderful it would be if we as a community here in Coronado could follow in the footsteps of these children, not only giving back, but doing so with happy hearts! Cheers to this dynamic little duo!
