HELENA — Best friends Mary Dietz and Mary McDuffie did something a lot of kids do in the summer, they held a lemonade stand. Instead of pocketing the profits, the two Marys used the money to help the Helena community.
“It was kind of just a normal lemonade stand,” 9-year-old Dietz said.
The two Marys set up a stand for a couple of hours one summer day, and sold cookies and lemonade to customers.
“We made a lot, it was $40 for the food share,” 10-year-old McDuffie said.
That’s right, they donated the $40 dollars they made—and a box of food—to Helena Food Share.
“Here are some young people in our community, and they have a heart for caring for their neighbors, and making sure their neighbors are taken care of and have enough food,” Helena Food Share executive director Bruce Day said.
Like all donations, Day said the $40 dollars from Dietz and McDuffie will go right to put food on the tables of Helena-area residents.
While Day said the need has slightly decreased from earlier in the Covid-19 pandemic, Helena Food Share is still helping put food on a lot of tables. Right now, food share serves about 70 families each day, on average.
“When you have that many people in a week who need help getting food, it makes you realize what the need is,” Day said.
The two Marys said they were happy to help out, and had some words for people who bought lemonade and cookies from them.
“Thank you for coming, and come back!” McDuffie said.
“Come back again!” Dietz said.
Dietz and McDuffie hope to hold another lemonade stand in the future, once again to benefit their community.
