Brothers Parez and Jakkhi Reese have made an annual tradition out of selling lemonade in their neighborhood every summer. Their stand on 33rd and Webster — which sells lemonade, Kool-Aid, and snacks — has always been a hit in their Kansas City neighborhood.
But in early June, one neighbor took umbrage with the kids’ lemonade stand and called 911 to report the two brothers for selling products without a permit.
Local police officer Morgan Reed was one of the first officers to stop by their stand during an afternoon shift — not to issue them a warning, but to encourage them to keep going.
“I was calling everybody, yeah. I was just calling everybody — hey, make sure you guys stop by the lemonade stand,” Reed told local news outlet KCTV. “And then just whenever they were busy, a couple people were able to swing by.”
A “couple people” soon turned into a community-wide swell of support from police officers and firefighters across town. As first responders arrived in droves to drink lemonade and Kool-Aid, their money jar grew.
Within 30 minutes of Reed’s call to the community, Jakkhi and Parez made $280.
Image via KCTV (Courtesy of Greg Dailey)
Visiting officers gave the two boys stickers to put on their shirts, making them “official” police officers. They were also invited to attend a free boys and girls football camp, held by the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department on June 6.
“It means a lot,” the brothers said.
The story soon went viral online, with people from across the country weighing in.
“I’ll bet the person who made the original 911 call was watching all this and seething,” one Facebook user wrote. “It’s ridiculous to try and discourage young people who are trying to improve themselves in their community.”
“I hope they get a lot more customers and have a great summer!” another wrote.
Image via KCTV (Courtesy of Greg Dailey)
One Facebook user pointed out that the lemonade stand was, in fact, legal.
“Due to the recent Kansas Lemonade Stand Law (House Bill 2599) — minor-owned, intermittent businesses do not require government permits or business licenses,” they explained.
“The law was explicitly created to allow children to operate small businesses (like lemonade stands, lawn mowing, or craft tables) without having to navigate complicated commercial red tape.”
The day after the 911 call came in, Reed returned to spend another $40, telling KCTV that this is what “community policing should look like.”
For Parez and Jakkhi, that singular day of community-wide support has been a weight off their shoulders.
Image via KCTV (Courtesy of Greg Dailey)
“I just wanted to help the homeless and buy [myself] a new e-bike because that has been my dream since I was little,” Parez said, as Jakkhi added that the money would also go to diapers for their nephew and niece.
The brothers said that they will continue running the stand throughout the summer — and Reed said she’d love to come back again to support them.
“I think [for] a lot of us, we’re kids growing up in this city,” she said. “And this was the thing that we always looked forward to as kids … these friendly police interactions.”
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Header image via KCTV (Courtesy of Greg Dailey)
