Lincoln’s Lemonade Stand raises $4,200 for service dog

A lemonade stand initiated by five-year-old Lincoln Ing and organized by Lincoln’s mom, Nicole to help pay for a service dog for his friend, Jackson Metevia, raised over $4,000 on Saturday, Jan. 21 during Tecumseh’s Ice Sculpture Festival.

Jackson, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, needs the dog to help with his stability and physical and emotional support. His mother, Kristen, had to raise $20,000 of the $40,000 to $60,000 needed for a dog to be trained through 4 Paws for Ability and was approximately $2,000 short of that goal.

“We raised just over $10,000 from the time the lemonade stand was announced across all forms of donations. Saturday we raised $4,200 in cash alone!” she said. “We received two separate donations online for $1,000 each from two anonymous donors.” The Tecumseh Arbor of Gleaner Life Insurance Society showed up with a check for $500, and donations were received at mightycause.com/story/Jmetevia.

Those at the Ice Sculpture Festival Saturday saw a line trailing out the door to Paper Street Soap and myPlantTerra, the location of the lemonade stand, where Lincoln set up shop and sold lemonade as well as hot chocolate donated by Musgrove + Company. Cookie Local also donated a portion of cookie sales at the same location.

With the money raised, the Metevias will now be put on a waiting list to receive a service dog and will likely have a two-year wait before the dog comes home in time for Jackson to start second grade. Kristen, who adopted Jackson as a single parent, said the additional funds will go to good use.

“The extra money will be used for our travel expenses to our training week in Xenia, Ohio. I will also set up an account to use for our future vet bills, training, and other supplies our dog might need like harnesses, kennels, etc.,” she said. “It’s been a few days now and I still can’t wrap my head around the support and generosity of our community, family, and friends. We were able to raise the money in three months when really, I was prepared for this to take a year. It makes me want to do more for others. Every donation made a difference for us and it’s something I will never take for granted.”