Walmart surprises southeast Raleigh 'lemonade kids' with school supplies

ABC11 Together spotlights good deeds in our community, and Friday, one good deed spurred another.

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Earlier this summer, ABC11 told you about Aniya and Ezzurie Williams.

ORIGINAL STORY: In southeast Raleigh, a lesson in character - one cup of lemonade at a time

They were operating a lemonade stand to raise money for school supplies their parents couldn't afford.

Aniya and Ezzurie received a surprise from Walmart. The company named 11-year-old Aniya and her 9-year-old sister, Ezzurie, as "Everyday Heroes," surprising them in class with book bags full of hundreds of dollars' worth of supplies and tablets, too.

"It's going to be great because I have a lot of supplies," Aniya said, "and I probably, this..." she said, picking up a 500-sheet stack of notebook paper, "... this right here is going to lead me all through eighth grade."

The girls helped start the lemonade stand in June and have been working ever since.

"Life is definitely going to give you some lemons sometimes, but it's OK, just take them and make lemonade," the children's mentor, community activist Geraldine Alshamy, said.

The story inspired hundreds, prompting one anonymous professor to donate $5,000 to their cause.

RELATED: Anonymous donor gives $5,000 to southeast Raleigh 'lemonade kids'

Their efforts inspiring Walmart to honor their work ethic.

Now they hope their story inspires other children, too.

"Me, Isaiah and Aniya want to come together and let everybody else do it in the community," Ezzurrie said. "Let them have a chance and an idea to do something in the summer instead of just playing outside."

You may recall there was a young boy involved in the lemonade stand. His name is Isaiah Lattimer.

He was not there to be honored because he moved to Chicago, but he was able to help his family with the move and buying school clothes with his lemonade profits.