Lots of kids set up lemonade stands in the summer. For many, it’s a rite of passage; a first step toward learning what it means to earn your own money. For 11-year-old Cartier Carey, it was a chance to do a lot more.
That’s because Carey isn’t using his profits to open a first savings account or saving up to buy himself a special treat. Instead, he’s investing it back into his Hampton, Virginia community.
His goal? Helping single mothers in need. With all the stress and financial uncertainty brought on by the pandemic, Carey decided to focus on the basics: diapers and wipes.
“He doesn’t want to spend any of the money on himself,” his mom Brittany Stewart told CNN. “He just wants to continue to keep buying diapers and giving each day.”
The impetus for the project took root while Carey was visiting his grandmother who lives in one of the area’s more economically depressed neighborhoods.
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Cary, who is keenly observant for his age, was taken aback by how many women he saw raising children on their own. His instinct was to find a way to help.
“As he’s getting older, he kind of understands,” Stewart told the Virginia-Pilot. “He just came up and said, ‘Hey can we help some of the moms?’ and we were kind of like, ‘What do you want to buy?’ That’s kind of how it came [about].”
By the end of July, Carey had raised close to $5,000 via the lemonade stand and from donations, and distributed close to 6,500 diapers. As of September, at 22,000 diapers, he’s close to achieving his total goal of 25,000.
But the generous 11-year-old is no stranger to worthy causes. Before becoming a “lemonade mogul,” Carey launched another community initiative dubbed “Carti packs”—care packages for the homeless that contained such essentials as deodorant, soap, tissue, and even hand-warmers for when the weather got cold.
Last year, Carey founded his own non-profit organization, Kids 4 Change 757 “to help the community and make the community better.”
Carey says his greatest joy comes from knowing he’s made a difference and seeing how much his efforts have meant to the people he strives to serve. When one mom who’d been the beneficiary of his good deeds broke down in grateful tears and gave him a big hug, he was truly moved.
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“It was heart touching. I almost cried myself when she gave me a hug and started crying. That made want to just keep doing it,” he told ABC News. “Others can make a difference just like I’m doing right now. They can save lives and be heroes. [You’re] never too young.”
(Watch Carey’s uplifting story below on ABC News.)
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Awesome. Kids are the best humans. I like this good news network. Its a breath of fresh air. Keep on doing good.
He’s a young hero and I was moved by the mother who stopped to tell him about her story.