Meanest Neighbor Ever Gets Autistic Child’s Charity Lemonade Stand Shut Down
Nothing says summer quite like kids selling lemonade.
Well, one grinch in Canada wants to change all that.
A 9-year-old autistic boy near Toronto named Corbin had to shut down the lemonade stand he was running for charity after a neighbor called police to say he was operating it without a permit.
Corbin was hawking some refreshing drinks on Monday when the boys in blue showed up and told him he had to shut down, even though he had been raising money for a children's hospital. Worse yet, Corbin and his sisters have opened the stand on July 1 each of the last three years.
Corbin's problems began when he was holding a sign while yelling at people on the street in order to make some money. The neighbor walked over to him and blasted him for shouting while also saying he couldn't continue selling the lemonade. Corbin kept trying to recruit new business, with his uncle by his side, but the neighbor returned and tried to bribe him with $5 if they agreed to shut down the stand.
The police confirmed a woman in the neighborhood did indeed call them, so officers were dispatched and ordered Corbin to close shop because he didn't have a permit, although they claim they merely talked to him about being too loud. His mother said, "It was upsetting. By the end of it, he thought I was going to jail, he was bawling his eyes out."
Corbin's mother kept at it, though, by moving the stand to a corner. All told, they raised $135. Give her credit, too, for sticking to her guns. She said, "How can I teach him to do the right thing no matter what if I don't stand behind him and show him?"
[Sun News]