ROY — For most children, the summer months are spent without a care in the world. But Kaden and Carson Kimber have had heavy hearts in the wake of the shooting of 11 Dallas police officers.
"I kind of sat down the kids and told them what was going on in the news," their mother, Sherrie Kimber said, explaining that 6-year-old Carson took it especially hard. "He started crying and I said, 'Well, what are you going to do about it?' and they immediately said, 'Let's do a lemonade stand!'"
Carson and his 8-year-old brother made a deal with their father to earn the $100 needed for supplies, promising to read and keep their rooms clean for 100 days. Sherrie Kimber says her sons stayed up late the night before, baking 150 cookies.
"They woke up first thing in the morning. It was like Christmas," their mother said.
At first, however, no one came. The boys' storefront remained quiet for about an hour until a friend suggested to Kimber that she post the event on Facebook. Suddenly, people started showing up and sharing the post.
"They were so excited," Kimber said. "Neighbor kids kept coming. They came to help. People were dropping off their kids to come help."
Eventually, police officers showed up, too. Kimber said many of them donated money, despite a sign that clearly read, "Free Lemonade For Police."
"It was pretty cool. We got to meet them. We got to shake their hands," Kaden said.
"They even gave us stickers," Carson added.
Between sales at the stand and donations, the boys have raised about $1,000. They plan to contact the Dallas Police Department and get the money to the families of the fallen officers, specifically to help their children, who had their careless summers tragically interrupted.
"I'm sorry for the kids that lost their dads," Kaden said. "Because if I lost my dad, I'd feel pretty sad, too."
His younger brother shared the same sentiment.
"It would be pretty sad if we didn't have a dad," Carson said.
Email: manderson@deseretnews.com