When Payton Obert was 6 years old, she set out to repay a kind gesture that had uplifted her.
She cherished a teddy bear that the local hospital gifted to her during a stay when she was 2. Four years later, long recovered from that medical problem, she was still grateful for her constant companion, “Teddy.”
Payton decided to set up a lemonade stand, “so other kids could get a toy like I did,” she recalled.
“I expected to get $10 or $15,” Payton, now 14, told The Epoch Times. Yet she raked in $768 from the driveway of her home in a small neighborhood outside Cincinnati.
“It was unreal,” she said.
Her mother, Jess Obert, explained: “Honest to God, I thought people were gonna show up with their quarters and give us 50 cents for a cup. But they were dropping $20s, $50s, $100s in the jar.
“Seeing that generosity, it really just restores your faith in humanity,” she said.
The Oberts used the proceeds to buy a carload of toys, then delivered them to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
On the way home, Payton—sitting in the back of her mother’s car in a booster seat—exclaimed: “Can’t wait to do it again next year!”
Her mother remembers thinking: “Wow, this was really meaningful ... I really am glad she had this idea.”
But, she said, “I never imagined Payton’s Lemonade Stand would become what it is today.”
Award-Winning, $5 Million Effort
Since its inception in 2018, Payton’s Lemonade Stand has grown exponentially.
In 2019, Payton’s second stand raised $7,000 after getting attention from local media.
In 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the movement expanded to eight other locations and generated more than $35,000.
Since then, dozens of volunteers and “Payton’s Pals” have been running annual lemonade stands across several states.
And now the organization pursues a mission far beyond handing out toys.
It grew into a nonprofit dedicated to “sweetening the lives of kids facing medical, personal, and economic hardships.”
To date, the venture has raised more than $5 million in monetary and in-kind donations, according to Cincy Serves—a community recognition program that named Payton among its 11 honorees this year.
Payton’s entire family—her mom, dad Mike and sister Presley—are all-in.
Presley was 3 when the effort started—too young to understand its significance.
Now 11, Presley holds the title, “Sweetest Assistant.”
“And I’m, like, really proud of my sister,” she said.
“Payton inspires thousands of kids and adults to host their own lemonade stands each July,” Cincy Serves said, noting that Payton’s organization benefits more than 40 local groups that “distribute funds, toys, clothes, coats, food and more.”
This year, a record 110 sites signed up for the Ninth Annual Payton’s Lemonade Stand. Hosts include kids, parents, businesses, fire departments, nursing-home residents, and many other community groups.
Most are in the Cincinnati area, offering free cups of lemonade and accepting donations from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 25. A few stands set different dates; some are in states as far away as New Mexico.
Across all locations last year, participants raised more than $150,000 in three hours. The one-day event has raised six figures in each of the past several years.
Payton’s Lemonade Stand also holds other events year-round, ranging from a Lemon Giving Tree at Christmastime to a Swinging for Sweetness Golf Outing in the spring.
Total revenue in 2025 exceeded $1 million, including about $800,000 in nonmonetary contributions, the group’s annual report shows.
“None of this impact would be possible without the generosity of our donors, sponsors, volunteers, and community partners. Your belief in our mission fuels every program, every smile, and every child we can serve,” the report says.
“Because of you, hope continues to show up.”
Making a Splash
Turning a charming, time-honored American tradition into a major charitable fundraiser has wrought important lessons for young and old alike.
Payton said she learned about the ripple effect of kindness. “One little splash, and it goes all over,” she said, smiling broadly.
“It only takes one person in the world to make a difference, no matter how big or small you are, how well-known or not-known you are,” Payton said.
“The power to make a difference is in everybody—and it only takes one person in the world to make a difference.”
Her sister, Presley, said the lemonade-stand charity taught her “you don’t have to keep everything you earned.”
She also said it feels good “to be part of something big ... and seeing people smiling, getting lemonade, and donating to kids.”
Payton added: “As long as one person is smiling, then I’ve done my job.”
The girls’ mother said the stand appeals to adults because of the nostalgia; many remember running their own lemonade stands as children.
And, she said, “I love it because it gets people to think about others. In today’s day and age, a lot of people think about themselves—especially kids, and I think that’s normal for kids.
“But I love that we’re able to shift that, and help kids and adults become aware of the needs in our community.”
Almost 10 percent of Cincinnati Public Schools’ students were homeless, far outpacing the state average of 1.5 percent, according to a 2020 Cincinnati Health Department report.
Cincinnati is situated in Hamilton County, Ohio, where one in five children lives below the federal poverty level.
That childhood poverty rate of 20 percent is 4 percent higher than the national average, a Cincinnati Children’s Hospital 2025 needs assessment shows.
Faced with such pressing circumstances, Jess said she is constantly on the lookout for ways to improve the quality of life for those children, even in small ways.
One such inspiration came from a Facebook post that broke her heart.
A woman from the Cincinnati Recreation Commission put out a plea for help. She lamented that, for lack of proper swimming attire, impoverished children were barred from using community pools.
That inspired a campaign called “Birthday Bundles.”
When Payton and Presley celebrate their birthdays in March, they collect funds to buy “swim bundles"—items such as bathing suits, goggles, towels, and sunscreen.
They donate the bundles to community pools, “so kids don’t have to stand outside the fence and watch their friends swim instead of being able to swim with them,” Payton said.
The girls also raised enough to pay for 50 children to take swimming lessons.
Supporting ‘Kids Helping Kids’
Payton’s mother left her job at the local children’s hospital to become executive director of Payton’s Lemonade Stand in 2021, the same year the organization attained nonprofit status.
A grant from a large, well-established Cincinnati nonprofit, Matthew 25 Ministries, covered her salary at first; she remains the sole paid staffer.
Matthew 25’s CEO, Tim Mettey, told The Epoch Times why his organization continues to support Payton’s Lemonade Stand.
“What they do is so important because it gives a way for people of all ages to relive their childhood and help children and others in need at the same time,” he said.
“Kids helping kids with something as simple as a lemonade stand is wonderful and impactful, and we are lucky to call them a friend and a valued partner.”
A former neighbor of the Oberts, Dan Dwyer Sr., has been boosting Payton’s Lemonade Stand since discovering it in 2019.
The retiree’s children, who run the insurance agency he established, “fell in love with the idea” of a sponsorship, he told The Epoch Times.
Every year since 2020, Dwyer Insurance has been “the main sponsor for every event we do,” Jess said. Scores of other businesses signed on, too.
Dwyer sees a “long-term benefit to humankind.”
“These are kids who are becoming our future entrepreneurs ... seeding the growth of a world where kids grow into adults and continue helping other people and fighting for good causes,” he said.
Now well-acquainted with the Oberts, Dwyer said the family has demonstrated that “regular, ordinary, everyday Americans can do amazing things.”
Recipe for Success
Charity Navigator lists Payton’s Lemonade Stand as a four-star charity, the highest financial-health rating.
Nichole Lawrence, board president of Payton’s Lemonade Stand, credits the dedication and sincerity of the Oberts and their supporters, along with an honorable mission that offers many ways to contribute.
“It’s not always monetary ... or through actual products,” she told The Epoch Times.
For example, some lemonade-stand hosts recently helped a local food pantry, Master Provisions, and were therefore “donating their time.”
At the local Ronald McDonald House—which provides housing for ill children and their families—Lawrence has talked to kids who received toys courtesy of Payton’s Lemonade Stand, “similar to what happened with Payton ... it’s like full-circle.”
Lawrence hopes those youngsters will do what Payton did: Show appreciation for the help they received and “pay it forward.”
“I really, truly believe that kindness spreads ... something as simple as holding a door for somebody—that changes their day. And then they’re doing something for somebody else,” Lawrence said.
“Anytime you think that you can’t make a difference, it’s just those small things that add up.”
