As the saying goes, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Molly and Dylan Eis have taken that advice one step further, turning lemons into thousands of dollars for their local animal shelter.The take from their sixth annual "LemonAid For Paws" one-day fundraiser on July 19 totaled about $3,000. With an anonymous donor matching the amount for a second straight year, Molly, 10, and Dylan, 9, were able to present a $6,000 check on Aug. 4 to Denville Animal Control Officer Meredith Petrillo."OK, hold...
As the saying goes, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Molly and Dylan Eis have taken that advice one step further, turning lemons into thousands of dollars for their local animal shelter.
The take from their sixth annual "LemonAid For Paws" one-day fundraiser on July 19 totaled about $3,000. With an anonymous donor matching the amount for a second straight year, Molly, 10, and Dylan, 9, were able to present a $6,000 check on Aug. 4 to Denville Animal Control Officer Meredith Petrillo.
"OK, hold onto your hats," Petrillo wrote in a post on the Friends of the Denville Animal Shelter Facebook page. "This amazing family has raised over $17,000 for the Denville animal shelter in the past four years, absolutely amazing! Thank you from the bottom of my heart."
Their mom, Lindsay, said when her kids first asked to open a lemonade stand to make some money, she turned it into a learning experience.
"We said, all right, but we're not just going to keep the money," she said. "So where can we donate it?"
They quickly decided on the animal shelter and opened the stand in front of their home on Lee Road at the northern end of the Morris County township. They raised about $60 on that first summer day during the COVID pandemic in 2020.
With two little helpers ages 4 and 5, Lindsay admits that at first it was "more work for us," as she and her husband, Robbie, taught their kids the ropes of the retail trade. But as the years passed, and revenues grew, the young entrepreneurs took the lead in their growing enterprise.
The total doubled the next year, but when they took a cue from their family name (pronounced "ice") and added shaved-ice snow cones. "Things really began to snowball," Lindsay recalled.
The money quickly accumulated despite charging just $1 for lemonade and $2 for snow cones. Lindsay said many customers will drop a $5 bill or larger and tell them, "keep the change." Others just contact them to make a donation. Anyone wishing to give to the cause can contact Meredith via an email to [email protected].
With the anonymous donor stepping up last year, Molly and Dylan were able to donate $6,000 in 2024 and matched that this year. Petrillo said the Eis family's lemonade stand is now one of the shelter's largest annual donors.
Denville Mayor and annual customer Tom Andes presented the children with a proclamation to honor their efforts and "encourage them to continue their good works."
"They are very kind, energetic and model young citizens," Andes said.
Molly said "the look on Meredith's face" when they presented the check to the shelter director made it all worthwhile. Dylan said the siblings' love of animals was the reason they chose to donate to the shelter. The Eis family unit also includes a dog and two cats.
This year, local businesses aided the cause by donating gift baskets. The Eis family chose not to raffle them off and break local gambling ordinances and instead offered them as giveaways, each customer getting their name entered. The baskets were donated by Denville Dairy, the Sneaker Factory, Mutts on Main, Matthew Vincent Hair Salon and from out of town, Growing Mindset Therapy.