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Lemonade for Your Library

Do you want to make a difference in our community? Look no further than the example set by the kids of the Brookdale Estates neighborhood! On June 26, Geetika Dhodda and her mother, Aparna Garimella, presented Menomonee Falls Public Library with a donation of more than $190.00—a result of the work Geetika and ten other children put in over the weekend at their neighborhood lemonade stand. Bala and Geetika Dhodda, Bhuvi Handigund, Yashaswi Pogula, Aashrith and Aadhyaa Deepak Kumar, Aarush Gaddam, Vikasni Vijay Raghavan, Saanvi Kalva, and Arjun Banda, accompanied by Aparna, stopped by the Library to tell us about their fundraising experience.

The Lemonade Stand

“Geetika kept telling everyone on the school bus that ‘We’re doing a lemonade stand at my house!’” Aparna said. “She kept on asking me! I thought ‘Well, let’s do something for the kids, yeah?’” The idea grew as Bala and Bhuvi, fourth graders at Marcy Elementary, were learning about game design by making games out of cardboard boxes. The kids scaled up the idea, so that customers could play in the driveway.

Each family pitched in to make the lemonade stand a success through food, supplies, and decorations. Menu items included popsicles, watermelon, regular and strawberry lemonade, and homemade chocolate chip cookies made by Aadhyaa, Geetika, Yashaswi, Vikasni, and Saanvi. Samosa, a savory South Asian pastry filled with spiced potato, vegetables, and meat were also available. Bala adds, “If you won one of the games in the driveway, you could also win pieces of chocolate.” To help get the word out, Aparna and other Brookdale parents accompanied the kids on marketing runs to hand out flyers throughout the community. “All the flyers said we were planning to donate to the Library.”

When asked why they chose to donate, it was a no-brainer for the kids. Each one rattled off reasons to love the Library! Aashrith, Aarush, and Geetika agreed on the safe space that they could come to read and learn. Yashaswi added, “The programs! I also really like the Indian books.” Bhuvi, Saanvi, and Arjun cited the vast selection of material—though Arjun makes the argument that fictional books are best because they tell a great story! Bala also shared that the Library was a resource for families in a pinch. “When our printer broke at home, we knew we could always come here!”

Aparna agrees. “The library is a good source of knowledge to everyone, not just kids. I got to learn some technology I use for work here, I got the books and learned it myself. I want everyone to have that privilege. As a village member, we just want to do something for the library.”

Let’s do it again!

The Brookdale Kids will be opening their lemonade stand again on Sunday, August 6, at 4:00 PM, in the Brookdale Estates neighborhood!

Children’s books about India

Yashaswi said one of the reasons she loves the library is because of all the books we have in the Children’s collection about India, so here are some some titles for you to explore: