Newnan children exceed fundraising goal for tornado victims

Joe Adgie / The Newnan Times-Herald Newnan children Anna Dickinson, 10, her sister Ally, 8, and neighbor Delanie Lanier help sell lemonade to raise money for those impacted by last week’s tornado. By Joe Adgie Newnan residents of all ages are doing what they can to help out in the aftermath of last week’s tornado. A handful of those residents in the Summergrove neighborhood, on Fairway Drive, have done so through a highly successful lemonade stand. Anna Dickinson, 10, and her sister Ally, 8, were out of school this week due to the effects from the tornado, and came up with the idea to sell lemonade to raise money for those impacted by the tornado. Their original goal was $500, but they surpassed that very quickly, having raised over $650 as of Thursday afternoon. “We’ve had about seven customers so far, and most folks, honestly, are just donating,” said their father, Kevin. “A lot of them don’t even need the lemonade or the treats, and they’re donating more than just a dollar.” In addition to the lemonade, the children also sold popcorn and blueberry muffins for those interested. By the end of business on Friday, the goal for the children was to raise $1,000 for the victims of last week’s tornado. “I think we’re going to reach out to the Coweta Community Foundation,” Kevin said. “They’re doing monetary donations. We’ll talk to them and see what the best way is, to see if they’d prefer gift cards or one lump donations. This is new territory for us, so we’ll figure it out as we go along.” “We didn’t plan on this; they of course were out of school all week unexpectedly,” said the children’s mother, Jen. “They were going to do a practice run on Monday, and it turned into this. All the neighbors got involved, and at one point, we had eight kids helping out. It’s been good for a week having to stay home anyway, and it teaches them some good life lessons.” “They’re making the most of it, and they’re enjoying it,” Kevin said. “Their principal was here the other day, and she was pretty impressed. She said something to the effect that it might be more educational than what you might have been doing in school anyway.”