After three years of hard work and lots of paper cups, a nine-year-old boy from Boise raised nearly $2,000 through a lemonade stand for the Idaho Humane Society to help purchase toys and supplies for cats in the shelter.
Ben Miller spoke to KTVB after raising $1,150 in one weekend at the beginning of April. The third-grader combined that large amount with other donations from previous lemonade stands to help the shelter animals in any way he can.
"I wanted to donate money and give the animals supplies and food so they can be happy," Miller told the news station.
Simple powdered lemonade is not the only thing Miller was selling, as he said there was a special flavored drink, some cookies, and even treats for pets available at his stand.
"I started two years back and the first time I donated about $200 dollars, and the second time I donated about $600, and this time about $1,150," Miller said. "I usually sell lemonade, lavender lemonade, and cookies and dog treats."
Miller told CNN that he "saw that some cats didn't have toys," and since they are his favorite animal, he knew that he could help make a difference.
"He has just always loved animals, everything from saving rolly pollies on our walks, to reptiles. He loves dogs, buts cats are his favorite," his mother Amy Miller told KTVB. "He would spend every dollar of that money adopting every cat here if I would let him. I'm so proud of him and his heart, he makes me so happy."
She also mentioned to CNN that her son's stand was heard about by people from all over, thanks to local radio and social media.
"People traveled from almost an hour away, saying that they had heard about it on the radio, and it was absolutely incredible," Amy Miller said.
Kristine Schellhaas, Communications Manager for the Idaho Humane Society, expressed the organization's gratitude towards the donation and mentioned how they are always in need of help for cat supplies.
"When we see kids on their own ask for donations it just means the world to us," Schellhaas said to KTVB. "We are always in short supply of cat donations, and since Ben loves cats, we'll definitely use it to help cats! We are just so thankful. Thank you Ben, thank you Ben's family, from the bottom of our hearts."
"We go through a ton of supplies," Schellhaas told CNN. "In some weeks in the summer, it's not uncommon to adopt between 60 and 90 kittens a week. That's a lot of life-saving care that we do."
Miller isn't going to retire from the lemonade stand anytime soon, and hopes he can continue to raise money for the animals he loves in the future.
"I would say, thank you! I think I'm going to do this every year, or at least as long as we can," Miller said.
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