KAYSVILLE, Utah — School is out across Utah and in Kaysville, police and firefighters are jumping into action to connect with kids over the time-old tradition of lemonade stands.
A few years ago, young entrepreneurs of one stand in Kaysville invited local police to stop by for a refreshing, cold beverage. Their invitation started a movement and a friendly competition between departments.
“So we have made it into kind of a challenge and invited other fire stations and police departments to join in," explained Officer Lexi Benson witht the Kaysville Police Department. "And see how many lemonade stands we can hit up.”
Thanks to social media, word spread quickly about the challenge and firefighters joined in. It's a friendly battle...but still a competition.
"So far they’ve beat us every year," explained Cameron McKinnon with the Kaysville Fire Department. "But this year we’ve got a leg up in front of them and we’re trying to beat them.”
Ultimately, the real winners are the kids and citizens of Kaysville.
"Getting involved in the lemonade stands, they can see us in more of a, I guess not so much of a serious role," McKinnon reflected. "We can get to know them, we get to know their families, and it’s really important for the work that we do.”
"It’s just a great way to build relationships with the community, both the adults and the children and it’s something they really look forward to,” Benson added.
Police officers and firefighters do more than just sip up a cup of fresh lemonade. They also try to go the extra mile and build a connection with Kaysville's youngest residents.
"We’ll come out, we’ll get some lemonade from them, we’ll always offer for them to come check out the police cars, turn on our lights and sirens, and it’s just a great way to build a relationship with them,“ Benson said.
Across the board, the firefighters and police officers hope their added attention to lemonade stands helps kids connect and see that they aren't so scary after all.
The lemonade stand challenge is underway and as temperatures heat up, so will the competition.
