Finding volunteer opportunities for kids can be tough. Siena, an elementary school student, used her creativity, passion, and discipline to give back to youth in the foster care system. At just 7 years old, she crafted a plan to run a lemonade stand at the end of her driveway to raise money and give 50% of the profits back to Foster Love - Together We Rise.

Siena shared that with the help of her mom, Lolo, she went to the store and picked out her ingredients. “We bought some lemonade mix and added some chopped-up lemons,” she said.

Siena designed posters to hang around her neighborhood and her dad helped spread the word by posting on his social media. Her dad, also a member of local car clubs, recruited some of his friends in their fancier vehicles to come patron her stand. Siena noted that it was “so cool” when multiple Porsche’s showed up to buy lemonade and give back to youth in foster care.

Making an Impact

After a lot of hard work and two different lemonade stands, Siena raised over $1,000. She went on the Foster Love - Together We Rise website with her mom and chose to donate toward a variety of programs including Sweet Cases, Birthday Boxes, and STEM. Her favorite program, she said, was,

Disney Days because it’s exciting that the brothers and sisters get to be together again.

Siena added that her favorite Disney princess was Rapunzel because of their matching long hair. When asked what she would say to other kids who are looking to give back, Siena shared that supporting Foster Love - Together We Rise has left her with a sense of pride,

I wanted to give back because it makes me feel good about myself. If you want to donate, you can do it, too.

What’s Next

As much as Siena enjoyed picking out items for others to receive, she skipped the toy shopping for herself and put the other half of her money raised into a college savings account. She shared that her favorite class in school right now is music and that she knows all the words to the school song.

We at Foster Love - Together We Rise are so honored that Siena has chosen foster youth to support through her efforts and know that wherever her future takes her she will continue to have a rippling impact on others. As for her immediate plans? “More lemonade stands,” she said, with a big smile on her face.

To learn more about Disney Days and the other programs Siena helped support, you can explore our website here: ​​https://www.togetherwerise.org/how-we-help/