Only source of income for a single mother of 4 in Florida is her kids' lemonade stand

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Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Lemonade stand is Florida family's only source of income
The single mother and her four children who range in age from six to 10 sell lemonade each day to try to make ends meet.

GREENACRES, Florida -- The only source of income for a single mother of four in Florida is her children's lemonade stand.

Her kids are between the ages of six and 10, and Erin Bailey said she goes with them each day to sell what they can to try to make ends meet.

"We are the best team in the world. That's for sure," she told WPBF.

Bailey said her family, and sometimes her friends, had been doing this for months.

"They wanted to save up money for certain toys and things that they wanted," she said.

Bailey used to run a lawn care business, but after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, customers stopped calling. She couldn't find a new job because there was nobody to watch her kids since schools were closed.

"Things just got really difficult," Bailey said. "We started selling the lemonade to make sure we have what we need each day."

She said they work long hours sometimes, and she always tries to keep it upbeat. But they don't make a lot of money.

Bailey's savings have vanished, and she's behind on her bills and rent.

"To know that there's a chance that they wouldn't have a place to call home - it's terrifying," she said.

Bailey applied for assistance from the state and her county but hasn't gotten anywhere.

"You reach a point where you feel like you ran out of options, and you're letting them down," she said.

Bailey said she just wants a job, not a handout, so she has a way to care for the four most important people in her world.

"Right now, we're just having a rough patch," she said.

"We just need to patch that patch," said her oldest child, 10-year-old Landyn, to which Bailey laughed and agreed, "Yup. We just need to patch the patch."

Bailey has set up a GoFundMe for donations.