LAKEVILLE — A one to one ratio of country time lemonade mix to water, a scoop of kindness and a spoonful of business expertise are the secret ingredients to Ryan and Charlotte Massey’s homemade lemonade. 

Nine-year-old Ryan and his seven-year-old sister Charlotte or “Charlie” set up a lemonade stand outside their Lakeville home on Saturday, June 29 to earn money for new toys and make a donation to charity. 

Ryan decided that a lemonade stand would be the perfect way to save up for a “ginormous” Godzilla toy at Target and give money to the local food pantry. 

According to his mother Cate Massey, the lemonade stand was an exercise to teach her children about working to earn money and the importance of giving back to the community. 

“I told them, for every five dollars [they earn], they each get two dollars, and one dollar goes to a charity of your choice,” said Cate.  

When Ryan said he wanted to give “to people who don’t have food,” they made the decision to donate to the Lakeville Council on Aging’s Food Pantry, which will receive 20% of the lemonade stand’s earnings. 

Charlie caught on to her mother’s message about the importance of giving back. Donating to charity, she said, is important “because the people you help will probably help you with things you need.”

Cate noted that her kids “loved the process of selling lemonade.” For Ryan, the lemonade stand presented the perfect opportunity to hone his entrepreneurial skills. 

Ryan wants to own a business and already has a website where he sells merchandise with designs that are inspired by a monkey character he’s created, his mother said. The website is called Baby Monkey Studios.  

Whatever her children decide to do professionally, Cate’s hope is that they take with them a big heart. 

“If I do nothing else, I will raise kind children,” she said.