CHANDLER, Ariz. — An East Valley neighborhood hosted a specialty lemonade stand to show support for a third grader who is facing a few personal hurdles.
12News stopped by the stand to see how Luke Johnston's classmates stepped in to help him during a tough time.
"My friend Luke, he's losing his vision," one friend explained.
Nine-year-old Luke is experiencing retinitis pigmentosa or RP, a rare eye disease affecting the retina that causes vision loss over time.
"I think it's important because if you don't help him then he can't raise enough money to find a cure and then he would be blind and I wouldn’t want that to happen to my friend," another friend said.
His pals and thirsty neighbors were ready Saturday to raise money in hopes of making a difference.
Angela Jones, a classroom mom was on-hand to make sure all the 'baristas' were good to go, ensuring service with a smile for a great cause.
According to research, an estimated 100,000 Americans have RP. It can affect people of all ages, including kids, just like Luke.
"We have hope that we're going to raise money that will go to research for a cure, not just for Luke but for other kids who have this condition," Jones explained.
"They're spending their Saturday here, in the heat raising money, and they know they don't get to keep any of this money, it's all going to Luke, and it just warms your heart, we've had so many people in the community stop by," she added.
After hours of stirring homemade custom drinks, the kids raised more than $4,700 and the donations didn't stop there.
"I'm thankful that they donated, and I hope that money cures Luke's blindness," a buddy said.
"We've also had a local engineering firm match up to $5,000 of everything we make today!" Jones said.
United Structural Design offered up the matched donation, not to mention the students' help, and even Luke’s teacher, Heather Donofrio, is proud of everyone's efforts.
"To see that this is our future and school is so much more than academics, so to see them come together and work together, working toward a cure it's just amazing," said Donofrio.
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