Babylon Brothers Raise Over $1,800 For Charity Through Lemonade Stand

MASSAPEQUA PARK, NY - Two young brothers raised over $1,800 for charity with their lemonade stand in Massapequa Park last week.

Five-year-old Sean and 3-year-old Kyle Griffin, who live in Babylon, hosted the lemonade stand at their father, Matthew Griffin's childhood home on Cartwright Boulevard in order to raise money for the NY Police and Fire Widows and Children's Benefit Fund.

"It was originally planned to have a lemonade stand at their house for fun," Matthew, who works as an NYPD Sergeant said. "My son, Sean wanted to wear his police uniform while selling the lemonade. I said if he wanted to do that, he would have to give the money to the police."

The boys' mother Debi Griffin, then asked if Matthew if he knew of any charities and he told her about the New York City Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund.

From that, Debi reached out to the fund and created an online fundraiser on Facebook which raised a total of $3,889 as of Monday. The online fundraiser will last until Sept. 2.

The family planned and executed the event in just one week but still managed to raise over $1,800.

The event drew dozens of people including many of Matthew's friends since high school at Massapequa High, members of the Masssapequa Fire Department, members of the Nassau County Police Department 7th Precinct, Massapequa Park Mayor Jeff Pravato, Trustee Daniel Pearl, Town of Oyster Bay Councilman Louis Imbroto, and State Sen. John E. Brooks' assistant Kevin Devlin who presented the boys with a proclamation for their service to the community as the event concluded.