When life gives you lemons ...
Local families sell lemonade to benefit foster kids
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Families recently got together to man a lemonade stand at the Painted Tree on Kingston Pike. Among them were, kneeling, from left, are: Lily Rose and Makenna Reill; back row are Betsy Rose, Lisa Alexander, Lily Alexander, Katelyn Reilly, Emerson Reilly, Hudson King and Haley King. - Photos submitted
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From left, Lily Rose, Makenna Reilly and Haley King advertise their lemonade stand. - Photos submitted
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From left, Emerson Reilly, Hudson King, Haley King and Makenna Reilly hold up signs for the lemonade stand. - Photos submitted
A group of local families recently got together to man a lemonade stand in front of the Painted Tree on Kingston Pike to benefit Isaiah 117 House.
“Anyone in the area could volunteer to do a lemonade stand,” said Katelyn Reilly, whose family gathered with others to host a stand at the Painted Tree.
“I personally decided to volunteer for one because I am passionate about adoption and foster care,” she said. “Our adopted son who is 5 now was removed from his birth parents’ home out of concern for his own welfare due to a drug issue.
“Fortunately for us, his birth mother chose an adoption path for his life, and we were able to bring him into our home two weeks later,” Reilly said. “He was only 2 months old (when adopted), but many kids’ stories don’t have a happy ending like in our family.
“When they are forcefully removed from the home for their safety, oftentimes they leave without warning or many personal belongings and are brought to a child welfare office to await placement,” she said. “That is where the mission of the Isaiah 117 House steps in. We are a physical place filled with caring volunteers for children to go while they are awaiting placement in the foster care system.”
The non-profit organization, led by Kristi Whitehead, opened its door to children Dec. 10, 2023, in Knox County.
“It can be a very traumatic and scary experience and the volunteers at the house provide food and clean supplies, such as clothing, and emotional support during that time,” said Reilly, an Isaiah 117 House volunteer. “The money raised (from the lemonade stand) was to provide the supplies needed to run and keep up the Isaiah 117 house.
“It is a not a state-funded non-profit,” she explained. “We did two lemonade stands: one on Aug.14 in front of The Painted Tree … We did a second stand the Saturday morning after, in front of The Adorable Child.
“Both businesses generously let us give away lemonade for donations in front of their
establishments for free,” Reilly said. “My kids learned that
not all children have a family that can take care of them
like they deserve to be taken care of.
“Isaiah 1:17 in the Bible says, ‘Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed.[a] Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.’
“I tried to teach my kids the importance of helping people who need it and that sometimes the people who need help the most, like children, are powerless to ask for it,” Reilly said. “That is where, as Christians, it is our job to step in and our privilege to step in. We tried not just to make it about the money but also about raising awareness for the Isaiah 117 House.”
