2009 Winners of Inc. Magazine's
Best Lemonade Stand in America Contest

“Every cup of lemonade provides a day of school in China.” Say the two 11-year-olds

What started out as a simple lemonade stand on the streets of a small New Hampshire community nearly three years ago has grown to be recognized as the Best Lemonade Stand in America according to Inc. Magazine, a nationally recognized resource for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

“People don’t think kids can make a difference, but we really can!” exclaimed Allison, 11, upon learning that she and her friend Abby, also 11, won the national contest while raising money to change the lives of six very lucky girls in rural China.

Abby and Allison and volunteers Lia, Emily, Holly, Ava, Grant and Luke have been screaming at the top of their lungs! Not at a ball game or an amusement park, but at the beach. They have been yelling, "Lemonade and brownies! 100% for charity!" For the past two years, the girls have sold lemonade on the side of the road. This summer, instead of waiting for people to drive by, they decided to put their business on wheels. “It’s like the ice cream truck. You bring your business to your customers,” said Allison.

In July, Abby and Allison entered a national contest for Inc.com's "Best Lemonade Stand in America." http://www.inc.com/lemonade/2009/read_story.html?id=61&o=40 When asked about the money they earned in the first weekend, Abby wrote, "In one day, we made $155 toward our goal of $300. We sold out of everything in just two hours! Next time, we are going to have a second wagon with extra supplies so we can earn even more. Since the family of the girl we sponsor only makes $214 a year, it is important that we reach our goal or she will not be able to finish high school." Since then, they received votes from 41 states and 8 countries and received the most votes in the history of the contest!

By the end of the summer, Abby, Allison and their friends raised an incredible $3,267 including $1,000 from the very generous Dr. Pepper Snapple Group ~ the makers of ReaLemon. The kids donated 100% of their earnings to Moving Mountains China. They earmarked $1,800 of that amount to send six female honor students in rural China to high school. This one-to-one sponsorship program allows them to exchange letters twice a year with the girls they have sponsored allowing them to understand the results of all their hard work. The kids not only raised money, by sharing their story, they inspired at least five other families to sponsor students in China!


Last week, Abby and Allison received a phone call from Inc. Magazine asking them to come to New York City to be interviewed on Inc.TV. The girls and two other finalists were asked to bring not only their lemonade but their lemonade stands to the New York City headquaters.

While there, Allison, Abby and Lia were named the grand prize winners!

To see the interview click here: http://www.inc.com/inctv/2009/09/best-lemonade-stand-winners.html

The next morning the girls were interviewed on The Today Show in Rockefeller Center...

To view a clip http://www.youtube.com/user/maxarsolutions

...and by FOX news.

Pictured here (from left to right)
FOX weatherman
Lia Jodoin of Rye, NH
Emily Cassidy of Harrisville, RI
Holly Cassidy of Harrisville, RI
Allison Jodoin of Rye, NH
Abby Suchocki of Rye, NH not pictured here.

Emily and Holly volunteered for several days this summer selling lemonade sponsoring two girls with the money they earned.

...and interviewed by the local newspaper http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090919/GJNEWS_01/709199919

Haiyan was sponsored for 3 years by Abby and Allison

Zhi was sponsored for 3 years by Allison



Mei was sponsored in her final year by Abby and Allison






Lei Li was sponsored in her final year by Emily and Holly



Lailei was also sponsored in her final year by Emily and Holly

Selected Voter Comments in Inc.’s Online “Best Lemonade Stand in America” Contest

Michele – Norman, OK
When life gives you lemons...give them to some great kids!


Rick A. - Littleton, CO
Location, location, location. If they are not in the right place to sell, they move to the best place. Somebody please give them more wagons so they can make a caravan for a great cause.


Susan L. - Brooklyn, CT
Absolutely inspiring. Stories of kids like these should be on the summer reading lists of schools across America.


Belinda - Eliot, ME
This is genius - raising funds for a great charitable effort, bringing the product to the customers, and doing it all with compassion, enthusiasm and a sense of fun. If this is what our future looks like, we're in good hands!


Mirja - Jerusalem
Abby, it is wonderful that you care about other girls your age and are even ready to work hard for helping them. If big people were to do the same we would have another world.


Aurora S. - Ft. Myers, FL
As a foreign teacher of English in China, this story is inspiring. Education is always the key to a brighter future and the selflessness of these girls should be a bench mark for society. Well done!

Q&A

What does Moving Mountains China do? Moving Mountains China provides scholarships to female honor students who have been accepted into the best high schools in their counties. But with an average family income of only $266 a year, the $300 tuition is completely out of reach. Moving Mountains matches the students with their sponsors and allows them to exchange letters twice a year.

“For kids like these, it is incredibly empowering. The amount that they need to raise is attainable and the results of their hard work is tangible to them. They will know exactly who received their donation and through the letters, they will learn how they have changed their lives.“ Kim Jodoin ~ Founder Moving Mountains China.

How did you get so many votes? Abby: Our moms emailed friends and family and asked them to vote and to send it to their friends. So many people forwarded it, that we got votes from 41 states and 8 countries.

Why did you name your stand Moving Lemonade? Abby: We named it Moving Lemonade because it is a moving lemonade stand and because it ties into the charity’s name ~ Moving Mountains China.

How did you make your stand? Abby: First, I came up with idea of putting one mountain on each side and topping each mountain with a flag one from America and one from China. We put ice caps to make people think of cold lemonade.

How much money did you make? With friends, we made $1,886. Then Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (the makers of ReaLemon) gave us $1,000.

Why China? Abby: Because in China they don’t make as much money and people in America have better opportunities to go school. Emily: If you think about it, for $300, you can stay in a hotel in New York City for one night. In China, that same $300 can change someone’s life.

Why do you like Moving Mountains China? Allison: Because it’s fun to write to our pen pals. Abby: I like it because we can change the life of a girl just by going to the beach.

How many days did you sell lemonade on the beach? Allison: With Abby, we went about five times but I also went with my friend Ava and my two cousins Emily and Holly for three days.

What was the best part of running your lemonade stand?
Allison: When we realized that each cup of lemonade we sold, paid for one day of school for our pen pal. Abby: Because I could do it with my best friend.

Why did you start running the stand?Allison: To sponsor my pen pal Zhi and I kept doing it for that. But now, I realize that I shouldn’t do it for that. I should help kids who can’t raise as much money as me but if I have extra, I would sponsor another girl.

For more information on Moving Mountains please visit http://www.movingmountainschina.org/.

Finalists for "The Best Lemonade Stand in America!"

This summer Allison, Abby and Lia have been screaming at the top of their lungs! Not at a ball game or an amusement park, but at the beach. They have been yelling, "Lemonade and brownies! 100% for charity!" For the past two years, the girls have sold lemonade on the side of the road. This year, instead of waiting for people to drive by, they decided to bring the lemonade to their customers!

In July, Allison, Abby and Lia entered a national contest for Inc.com's "Best Lemonade Stand in America." http://www.inc.com/lemonade/2009/read_story.html?id=61&o=40 Since then, they received approximately 520 votes from 41 states and 8 countries!

By the end of the summer, the girls and their friends raised an incredible $1,886 plus an additional $1,000 from the very generous Dr. Pepper Snapple Group ~ the makers of ReaLemon lemon juice. Not only that, but their story inspired at least five other families to sponsor students in China!

This afternoon, the girls received a phone call from Inc.com asking them to come to New York City to be interviewed on Inc.TV. The girls and two other finalists have been asked to bring not only their lemonade but their lemonade stands to the headquaters. An editor from Inc.com will then announce the winners!

More Students

These two girls are in Yunnan and are in their final year of high school.


YN 18 ~ Zhiqi

Zhi is the name of all the children born in her generation. In Chinese, Qi has the same sound as seven and ZhiQi is the seventh child in her family. She hopes to become a writer or a poet some day. Her favorite thing about her village is the marsh nearby. She loves to watch the black necked cranes there. Unfortunately she doesn’t get to go home often because her village is five hours away from the school.

This is the letter she wrote to her sponsor last year.

My name is Lu Zhiqi. I live in a small village in the northeastern part of Yunnan Province. It’s a poor village far from the city. I would like to thank you all for your help.

Every day when the sun rises, everything begins again from the start. Just like the motto of our class: Get up early to work hard for your ideals, you’ll be brave; Sleep in the late midnight to work hard for goals, you’ll be well prepared. Without your help, I might only be able to say hello to the morning sun in a wasteland or gaze into the setting sun hopelessly. I couldn’t be well prepared when opportunities came either. Because of your help, I can continue writing. I have a dream that one day I could be an accomplished scholar. I could express myself by creating beautiful articles. Without your help, I might be standing on the street of a busy city but have no hope and dreams. I thank you for giving me the chance to lead a different life.

Well, about my summer vacation, it was pretty good actually. I was born in countryside so I helped my parents to do some work in the fields. The potatoes here are gorgeous. They are big but the harvest is not in summer. In countryside, I can live close to nature and feel it. There are no trees in my hometown. It’s in a highland. We only have grassland here. There is green grass and there are flowers here in spring. It’s beautiful. There is a huge marsh near the lake next to our village. Hundreds of black-necked cranes fly to the marsh in winter. They are well protected in China. When the land is covered by thick white snow, the cranes will dance in the snow, warble in the sky or slide above the lake surface.

My home is very far from school. It takes 5 hours by bus, so I can only go home once every semester. For the rest of the time, I stay on campus. Life is also interesting in school. I play basketball with my friends. It’s interesting.

Women are born for beauty. I particularly love the flowers on our campus. I can see beauty in every flower. I can see the life when the flowers bloom or wilt. I like the flowers blooming quietly under the trees on campus. They are like smiles of girls like me, in the warm sunlight.

I think if I work hard and use my heart to feel everything, my studies, my life and my morals will all become better and better. So in the coming year, I will study hard and absorb as much knowledge as I can. At the beginning of a new year, I will do my best to achieve more. Of all my subjects, I love Chinese the most because Chinese is the most beautiful language in my heart. I can only express and release my thoughts and feelings through words. I could give up everything but not literature because I need it to journal about my life, my future and my dreams. I believe that my dreams are not far from me when I am full of enthusiasm.

Thank you.

Best wishes.

Lu Zhiqi



YN 22 ~ Zhou

Zhou Huamei’s name means “beautiful China.” She wants to teach history at her high school someday. Huamei seems very quiet and a little shy. Her village is near a beautiful mountain and has lots of trees. She is very grateful for her scholarship but she is also very excited to have the opportunity to write to her sponsor.


This is the letter she wrote to her sponsors last year.

My name is Zhou Huamei, a girl who lives in a small city in the northeastern region of Yunnan Province. I am writing to extend my great thanks for your kind and timely help because without it, I would never be able to go on with my high school life.

How time flies! Now a brand new semester has started. I’d like to share with you how I spent my summer vacation time. In the morning, I usually did housework while my parents went out doing their jobs. In the afternoon, at about 1 p.m. when the sun was beating straight down on our heads, my father and I had to go digging up potatoes. During the evening, I would help cook with my father. After a day’s work, I would have a little rest, watching some TV news and the day’s highlights of the Beijing Olympic Games. Then came my reading time which usually ended at 10 pm. Life continued like this for a month and then we were done with the potato harvest. Then came the corn harvesting season… Life is harsh, isn’t it? After months’ of exposure to sunlight, I looked like an African girl on orientation day at school.

Going to college has always been my dream because I know only after I succeed will my life be completely changed.

My hometown is at the foot of the Phoenix Mountain which is covered by evergreen trees. It serves as a natural gymnasium for many people.

It’s quite some distance from my home to my school. It takes almost an hour by bus. I make my trip home every weekend, talking with my parents about school life and visiting my grandma sometimes.

The new semester has begun. It’s my start as a junior in high school and my life’s turning point as well. I’ve made my study plan and I’m determined to work even harder to reach my dreams. It seems that I kind of over did it already. In fact, because I didn’t get enough rest, I have become short-sighted and I have to wear glasses…but that’s hardly an issue for me.

I wish you all the best!
Yours sincerely,

Zhou Huamei



These girls are all entering their second year of high school.

All of these girls had one year commitments from people sponsoring a student in honor of birthdays or other special occasions. YN means that they are from the Yunnan Province of China and GD means that they are from the Guangdong Province. Below are excerpts from their letters to their sponsors.



YN ~ 35 ~ Zhao Zejian

I am Zhao Zejian. I am from a small town in northeast Yunnan Province. I am very grateful for the financial aid provided by you and your family. Your help makes me understand the beauty of love. It helps me have a brighter future, helps me turn from crying to laughing and takes away discouraging thoughts and sadness.

Once when I was in middle school, I got an extremely low test score. This disappointed me and made me lose confidence in my studies. I once wanted to drop out. But the people around me, my parents, my classmates and my teachers encouraged me by telling me that failure can be conquered. What is “fearful’ and knocked-down is within me and I should never lose self-confidence. Their encouragement gave me strength and made me want to work hard.

After I got the acceptance letter from this high school, I once again let myself fall into despair because I knew that my family was too poor to pay for me to go to this school. I would never be able to realize my dream. I asked myself why my fate was so miserable, why success was so far from me… For a while, I just stayed at home in meditation, “School will begin soon; what should I do?” My parents insisted that I go to school. They told me, “No matter how poor we are; we will try our best to send you to school.”

Just after the beginning of school, the good news came to me. I was told that I could get a Moving Mountain’s scholarship. I suddenly felt that I was the luckiest person in the world. The world was not so dark anymore and I felt that bright love shone upon everything in the world. My heart is filled with gratitude. I told myself that I will model myself after you. I will learn to love others and make the world brighter and more harmonious.

Thank you again! I wish you a happy life and family and success!

Zhao Zhejian

Zhao Zhejian's annual family income is 600 RMB (approximately $88) a year
Favorite class: Math
Favorite sport: Basketball
Free time activities: Reading, listening to music
Summer holiday activities: Helping my parents with household work, doing holiday homework, mountain-climbing and travelling
Future goals: Working hard to enter an ideal university to become a doctor


YN ~ 34 ~ Guo Taizhou



Hello! I am the student you are helping in Yunnan. My name is Guo Taizhou. My home is in a small city in northeast Yunnan. I really thank you for helping me. At the time that the high school test results were sent to me, I was extremely excited. At that time, my mood was really golden.

My neighbor told me that this high school is very hard. It made me shiver, but I’m not afraid. I just decided to focus on my heart’s goal. I will focus on the end result. I believe that where there is a will there is a way.

I just began with a new teacher. I was in a new environment and had new problems. When I thought about taking my parents’ blood-and-sweat-earned money, it really affected me. I was really very heartbroken. I needed to overcome this difficulty. I knew I must somehow use my achievements to pay back my parents.

When I learned of your help, I was very happy. It will relieve a large burden on my parents. But now, it increases your burden. My heart thanks you. With your help with tuition, I have self-confidence and a new life to look forward to. From now on, I want to work hard toward my goals. In the future, I want to pay back my parents and pay back all the people that helped me. If there is a time when I have the ability, I would also like to give someone a helping hand like you have given me. I want to give warm sunshine to those people that I help. I truly wish that sunshine will illuminate all things and disperse any trace of chilliness. It can spread good fortune.
Thanks to you all!

I wish you good fortune, beauty and happiness every day.

Guo Taizhou

Annual family income 750 RMB (approximately $110 a year)
Favorite class: Politics and Chinese
Favorite sport: Long jump, playing basketball
Free time activities: Mountain climbing, travelling
Summer holiday activities: Helping my parents with farm work and doing holiday homework
Future goals: Keep studying, working hard to enter an ideal university




GD ~ 127 ~ Jieping Lun

This student is in her second year of high school.

Hello! It has been a month since the start of this semester. I was admitted to the best high school in our county. I am really excited about it. About four months ago, when I was in my third year of middle school, I thought I might not be able to continue my education. I was really afraid. I didn’t know what to do and I felt helpless.

When my principal told me about this opportunity to receive a scholarship from such kind-hearted people, (I was very happy.) I realized how hard it would be if I had to drop out just because my family was poor. Now, I want to work hard and learn as much as I can. When I grow up, I am determined to help children in poverty to continue their education just as you have done.

Thank you all! I wish you will have good health and success in everything you do in the future.
Yours sincerely,
Jieping Lun

Annual Family Income 2,500 RMB (approximately $357 a year)
Favorite class: Physics
Favorite sport: Badminton
Free time activities: Reading
Summer holiday activities: Working on the farm, doings some odd jobs
Future goals: To go to top university