One teddy bear grew into $5 million for kids

A teddy bear given to an 18-month-old in a hospital has, nearly a decade later, grown into a $5 million charity engine. Payton Obert kept that bear close through a difficult time, and when she turned 8 she decided to do something similar for other children. She opened a lemonade stand in Cincinnati in 2018 and raised $768, every cent of it spent on toys for kids in hospital. The next summer the stand earned ten times as much. In 2020, at age 10, Obert launched Payton's Pals, and a year later the operation became a registered 501(c)3. The single-day totals climbed steadily, reaching $125,000 in 2024 and $170,000 this year, with stands now opening in West Virginia, Baltimore, and New Mexico. The charity still hands out toys. It also delivers food, clothing, and school supplies to families facing hardship. The teddy bear, as far as anyone knows, is still around.