GROVES, Texas — A brother and sister from Groves are hoping to make a difference and help their neighbors cool off during this summer heat with a glass of cold lemonade.
Charlie and Scarlett are part of a nationwide outreach called Lemonade for Livy. It's a global movement to raise funds and awareness for those living with the challenges of epilepsy and their families.
Olivia Sheinman, known as Livy, is the inspiration behind the movement. The 16-year-old has seizures and has been through multiple major brain surgeries since birth.
Charlie and Scarlett wanted to make a stand for their mother, Jennifer, who has epilepsy. She was diagnosed with it nine years ago.
MORE | Lemonade for Livy website
"Kids need to know how important it is, because at my school, I see a lot of kids that are joking around with it, making jokes about epilepsy. And it kind of annoys me because they don't know how serious it actually is," Charlie Clark said.
They want to help educated the community about the experience of those with epilepsy through the existence of their lemonade stand.
Jennifer, the kids' mom, isn't able to work, enjoy the outdoors for long periods of time or drive like she used to.
"I kind of feel a little bit bad for her because she has to go through a lot and I love her," Scarlett said.
Jennifer described the disease as "completely life-changing," and said she can't take a shower or bath without someone checking in to make sure she's OK.
Epilepsy affects 65 million people around the world, including 3.4 million in the United States, according to the Epilepsy Foundation.
"You're not alone, there's tons of people out there. They say 1 in 26 people have it," she said.
If you would like to help Charlie and Scarlett with their mission, you can visit the lemonade stand until Saturday. They are located on Verde Street in Groves.