The 11-Year-Old’s Sign Said “Raising Money for Single Mothers.” By the End of Summer, He Had Given Away 22,000 Diapers

Lots of kids set up a lemonade stand in the summer. Most of them dream about what they will buy with the money.

Cartier Carey had a different plan.

He was 11 years old and lived in Hampton, Virginia. In 2020, the pandemic was making life hard for many families. When Cartier visited his grandmother, who lived in a neighborhood where a lot of people were struggling, he noticed how many moms were raising their children all on their own.

He went to his mom with a question: “Hey, can we help some of the moms?”

His mom asked him what he wanted to buy for them. Cartier knew right away. Diapers and wipes, the things every baby needs every single day.

So he set up a lemonade stand on his front lawn. Next to it, he put a handmade sign: “Raising Money for Single Mothers.”

People started to stop. Then more people stopped. In just three days, he raised close to $3,000.

“He doesn’t want to spend any of the money on himself,” his mom said. “He just wants to continue to keep buying diapers and giving each day.”

Every dollar went into diapers. By late summer he had raised more than $7,500 from lemonade and donations. By September, he had given away more than 22,000 diapers to moms in need.

It wasn’t even his first project. Earlier that year, he had packed bags with soap, deodorant and tissues for people living on the streets. He called them “Carti packs.” He had also started his own little charity, Kids 4 Change 757.

One day, a mom came to pick up diapers. She hugged him and started crying.

“It was heart touching,” Cartier said. “I almost cried myself when she gave me a hug and started crying. That made me want to just keep doing it.”

And he did. That Christmas, he collected gifts for kids in need. The next summer, at 12, he was handing out free backpacks and school supplies to families before the school year started, and still giving diapers to moms.

“God gave me a talent,” he said. “You are never too young to do anything that you want.”

Would you stop at Cartier’s lemonade stand? Tell us in the comments.