"God bless these little girls. You know? It’s wonderful."
Two little girls and a lot of heart pouring into each cup of lemonade…
They didn’t just meet their goal to help the homeless.
They surpassed it.
We first told you about Tehlor and 4-year-old little sister, Miya, two weeks ago when they opened their lemonade stand in Cadillac.
They raised hundreds for the new hope shelter last year.
And now they’ve done it again.
9&10’s Cody Boyer and photojournalist Jacob Johnson caught up with the sisters as the made their donation.
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"You don’t see lots of kids doing this kind of a thing,” Tehlor says.
Tehlor and Miya have heard that one before.
That did not stop them.
"I know that I’m helping and it helps a lot of people,” Tehlor says.
It started with a goal of $300, selling 50-cent cups of lemonade last year — easily beaten.
Then, $500 this year…again, surpassed…
"We were looking at $568 in just one day,” Tehlor says. “So far, we have $1,036."
With 4,500 Facebook followers and donations from across the country, their folks were caught off-guard, too.
"I didn’t think it was going to get that high,” says Matthew Keel, Tehlor and Miya’s father. “I knew that it had grown and grown and you had seen what people had been bringing and the checks that were coming in, too."
“To see everybody get behind these girls and help them be successful in doing such a great thing makes me very, very proud,” says Kelly Keel, their mother.
“It makes me feel happy,” Miya says.
Each cent was hand-delivered to the New Hope Shelter on Thursday, Aug. 3.
"Any kind of effort like this to support our mission and what we do to help the homeless in our community is very beneficial, very much appreciated,” says Brenda Wright, Executive Director at the New Hope Shelter.
She says that $1,036 will go towards paying bills, utilities and for other supplies and that money could have come at just the right time."
"This past year, we have a contract with the state of Michigan for some funding and that cut this past year. It’s going to be cut again this coming year,” Wright says. “Every penny, every dollar, every bit helps us out."
And next year?
Yep. They’re doing it again.
Their goal: $2,000.
"I love what Tehlor said, you know?” Wright says. “Anyone can do it.
"You can do fundraisers,” Tehlor says. “You don’t have to just scratch up money. You can help out the whole community."
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