INDIANAPOLIS — Who doesn't enjoy a glass of lemonade on a sunny day?
That's just what hundreds of people did across the city during Coburn Place's annual Lemonade Stand fundraiser.
Coburn Place provides shelter and services to survivors of domestic violence and their children.
At one of the stands just off of 38th Street, 12-year-old Kadiatou offered visitors a glass of lemonade and a smile.
"Anytime they get the lemonade, I just look at their faces, and they're happy 'cause it's so good," Kadiatou said.
The reason behind the lemonade stand is even better than the lemonade itself.
"I tell them it's for us, for the kids to get new shoes, new uniforms, new socks, everything like that," Kadiatou said.
“These kids are the heart of our mission because they are the ones who will break the cycle of domestic violence in their families,” Coburn Place CEO Rachel Scott said. “We want them to feel confident when they go back to school this fall, and having brand-new shoes and clothes can be powerful. Most of us can relate to that.”
Kadiatou and her family came to Coburn Place nearly two years ago.
"At first, I didn't want to come here, 'cause I don't like change, personally. I don't because we had to move a lot in the past, so it was just getting tiring, but once we moved in here, honestly, I really liked it, 'cause everybody was really nice. I made a lot of friends," Kadiatou said.
Now, those same friends will benefit from the money raised.
"It's absolutely more than a glass of lemonade. What this lemonade stand is about is supporting our kids in going back to school and their education," said Tracy Clark, Coburn Place's director of support services.
Clark and her children were once clients of Coburn Place after she left a relationship involving domestic violence.
"I had pretty much nothing," Clark recalled, saying the help she received back then from Coburn Place likely saved her life.
"I said, 'I refuse to live in fear.' Yes, there were threats. Yes, I didn't know what was ahead, but I refused to live in fear," Clark said.
Now, she helps other families find their new normal, and what the lemonade stand fundraiser provides is part of that.
"We want them to have new shoes, new clothes, supplies for school," Clark said.
Kadiatou gets the fundraiser's bigger purpose and hopes the customers realize it, too.
"It's not just lemonade for fun," Kadiatou said.
The lemonade stand fundraiser involves more than just Thursday's event.
There is also a Spiked Lemonade Stand on Friday, July 19 at Hotel Tango in Fletcher Place. That runs from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Officials said 20% of the bar sales will go to the Coburn Place's Children Services program. There will be specialty lemonade-inspired cocktails and mocktails.
And if you can't make it to any of the stands, you can donate at a virtual "lemonade stand" through July 19 online here.
Help is available
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, help is available.
You can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline or call 1-800-799-SAFE.