Got lemonade? This Grapevine 5th grader is fundraising to build a school in Uganda
GRAPEVINE (CBSNewsTexas.com) — When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. And to 10-year-old Paisley Elliott, that's not just a sweet anecdote—but a life motto.
"I help refugees all over the world with education, so I spend my weekends raising money," she said.
It is not the typical answer you'd get from a fifth grader selling lemonade on the street. However, Paisley knows she was given the heart and the resources to change the world.
"She was almost 5 the first time she did a project...two months shy of 5," said her mom, Tali Jones.
Jones says her daughter learned about refugees in school. It was then and there that her life changed forever.
"She wanted to know what countries were safe, which ones were weren't safe...I didn't know," Jones said.
Paisley shortly started her nonprofit, Paisley's Pals, which partners with organizations across the globe to offer support and education to refugees.
Since age 4, she's raised over $80,000 mostly though lemonade stands. The money has gone towards a school in Greece, portable pop-up desks, and more.
"Nobody prepared me to have a child like this," Jones said. "She's my oldest, and I didn't know this was an option...there wasn't a check-the-box that said, 'I want a kid who changes the world,' you know?"
Her next venture? She needs $35,000 to build a school in Uganda. As of now, the school is partially done with $8,000 she's already raised.
Jones said she wishes more parents would empower their kids to follow where their hearts lead.
"Our kids are really powerful. And they have powerful ideas. And it's not necessarily the easiest job to empower them to follow through," she said. "It would've been much easier if I said, 'That's a great idea, why don't you go watch TV?' But I am amazed on a daily basis at what she's capable of doing, and that's true of all kids."