MELROSE, MASS. (WHDH) - A group of young children in Melrose are using the money they raised from their lemonade stand to help their neighbors who were displaced by what one resident called a “tornado of poop.”
Lloyd Graves, 11, and friend Marissa Mantilla, 10, were riding the school bus together when they came up with the plan to open the lemonade stand and donate the money to the four families impacted by a massive sewage backup on Thursday.
“I talked to her about it on the bus, just mentioning it,” Graves said attributing some of the idea to his partner. “Apparently she has always wanted to do a lemonade stand. So I thought it would be a good idea to do it with a donation thing.”
“It has always been my summer dream to open up a lemonade stand for a good cause,” Mantilla said. “And, I learned something, the “ade” in lemonade stands for aiding neighbors.”
So far, hundreds of dollars have been raised.
But, the cost of the cleanup is expected to stretch into the thousands as bathrooms wall and floors must be torn out.
Mantilla and Graves hope that with each cup sold they will reach their goal to help their neighbors as best they can.
“I got to stop and help donate you know,” Michael Sterns said. “It is all about helping others right?”
The city of Melrose says that a Department of Public Works crew tried to clear a blocked line on Thursday which caused the sewage to back up into the four homes.
Silvia Ortiz’s home was one of the few impacted, and she described the scene as a “tornado of poop.”
A community meeting was scheduled to be held on Brazil Street at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
The residents say they want the city to pay.
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