Ohio girl raised $768 at lemonade stand; 8 years later, nonprofit topped $5 million

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.