People lined up with dollar bills in hand in Brooklyn, Ohio, this weekend to purchase a glass of lemonade from three young boys raising money to help the family of a fallen police officer.
The boys—Gideon, Josiah, and Matthew Trank—operated the stand to raise money for the family of fallen Cleveland Police Officer Vu Nguyen, who died Friday night after he fell unconscious while participating in a training exercise, WJW reported.
Many officers who knew Nguyen stopped by the stand to pay their respects to the late 25-year veteran of the force and sip on a cold glass of lemonade to take the edge off the hot, summer day.
“I knew him before he was a police officer,” retired Cleveland Police Detective Cliff Kime, who stopped by the stand, told News 5 Cleveland. “A genuine person, a real tragedy. A kind, awesome, guy.”
The boys said they are on a mission to help law enforcement in any way they can. Six-year-old Gideon said he helped open the stand to “make some money for the police officers,” and the boys have donated their profits to other organizations that help law enforcement.
Last week, the boys raised $300 from their lemonade stand and gave it to the Cleveland-based pro-law enforcement nonprofit Sea of Blue.
Mary Jo Graves, the founder of Sea of Blue, says the money raised from the stand went to an officer fighting cancer.
“The generosity and kindness of these boys is amazing and really touches me,” Graves said. “Through tragedy, they’ve brought happiness. Please stop out and help Officer Nguyen’s family if you can.”