Following two Friday-afternoon lemonade stands, a group of disadvantaged children in Oak Park have raised $1,016 for two young Texas boys left without parents last month.
Joshua Berry, 41, and his wife Robin, 40, were killed instantly in a head-on collision the evening of July 2 outside of Houston. Their 6-year-old daughter Willa suffered broken bones, while her brothers Aaron, 8, and Peter, 9, were left paralyzed from the waist down.
Just recently, the two Berry boys were relocated to Oak Park to begin treatment at Shriners Hospital for Children, located just north of the village in Chicago’s Galewood neighborhood. They are being cared for by their aunt and uncle.
The Hephzibah Children’s Association — which cares for kids who have been abused, neglected or orphaned — was touched by the Berry story. They held two lemonade stands on consecutive Fridays, and ended up raising more than $1,000, according to Executive Director Mary Anne Brown.
On Friday, Hephzibah’s children plan to present the money to West Suburban Temple Har Zion in River Forest, which has been raising money for the Berry boys.