Last Sunday, as many 10-year-olds like them were dreading heading back to school on Monday, best friends Lauren Jones and Lily Ellis started a hot chocolate and churro stand outside of Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California, to raise money for the undocumented families separated at the border. The stand was a direct response to a 7-year-old who started his own hot chocolate stand in Austin, Texas to help President Donald Trump fund the border wall. The young girls wanted to counteract his actions, so they chose to raise money for Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES). That day and through the help of a GoFundMe account, they raised nearly $9,000, and this weekend they are bringing out the hot chocolate and churro stand once more to raise more than $10,00 for RAICES.
This time, Lily and Lauren will head to the First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St, on Sunday. Lauren’s family, who owns Jenny’s Churros, will supply the drinks and snacks, and the two girls will be joined by Alphabet Rockers – a Grammy-nominated kids hip hop group to which Lily belongs – as well as volunteers from the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula Keystone Club.
For Lauren, putting up another hot chocolate and churro stand is what she feels she needs to do. “I want to do this again because I have the chance to help and other people want to help, too. It’s the right thing to do.”
Lily adds that they’re happy that they have the opportunity to do this again. “I want to do it again because I want to raise as much money as possible to help the families torn apart. The fact that we can do another one is amazing. This cause matters a lot to me. I hope it will continue and that me and Lauren can support other causes that matter to us and to support other kids who want to as well.”
You can support by donating to their GoFundMe page or visiting them on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.