Protected by the generous shade of a cluster of oak, pine and maple trees, she will set up her stand for the third time on Saturday, July 28, in the hopes of making some money and gathering school supplies to assist Huntersville's Angels and Sparrows Soup Kitchen. As is often the case with innovation, she launched her business with her eyes on a different goal, some new books to read.
"Originally, she saw books on the Internet that she wanted to buy and started the lemonade stand to earn the money to pay for them," says Aubree's mother, Venitra White-Dean.
When neighbors heard of her ambitions, they quickly went to work collecting more than 50 chapter books for Aubree to enjoy, from the Junie B. Jones series to the adventures of The Boxcar Children. As surprising as that was, White-Dean and her husband, Richard, were shocked when they counted $72 in Aubree's collection tin that first day, having expected her to make only $20.
Inspired by such generosity, Aubree, a girl with an infectious laugh, and her mother contemplated to whom they could pay forward the generosity. It wasn't long before they selected Angels and Sparrows.
"Last Thanksgiving, I had wanted us to volunteer with Angels and Sparrows for the day, so I called them, but they already had volunteers, says White-Dean. "They were booked up with volunteers from the year before, so I figured they were special if people from the year before wanted to volunteer again.".
After speaking with Angels and Sparrows founder Sandy Tilley, Aubree's mom determined that the soup kitchen' could use a selection of toys, books and games for children, especially for those ages 2-5.
