Dallas

Girls Raise $10,000 for Dallas Police With Lemonade Stand

Two young girls, 12-year-old Lauren Roach and 11-year-old Landry Nelon, raised $10,000 in two days for Dallas police

Support is pouring in for Dallas in the wake of last week's deadly attack on police, which left five officers dead and injured half a dozen others.

Among those rallying behind the police department are two young girls, 12-year-old Lauren Roach and 11-year-old Landry Nelon, who dropped off a check for $10,000 — money they raised in just two days with a lemonade stand in North Dallas.

"We felt really bad for all the victims' families," said Lauren. "At first we thought we would get about $100, but after we got to about $5,000, we realized we could really get this really high."

"We just really feel that every little penny counted," Landry added.

Two other girls, 9-year-old Emmy Roberts and her 8-year-old sister Lily, also helped.

"People were just driving by," said Lauren's mother, Tracey Roach. "They didn't want lemonade, they didn't want anything, just giving them 20s, 50s, you name it, just giving money. And everybody saying, 'Back the blue, back the blue, we support Dallas, we support families, help Dallas become a better place.'"

The Dallas Police Association has yet to tally up all the donations, but figures they are well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Southwest Airlines donated a check for $75,000, while Houston police donated $20,000.

The department has also received donations of time. 

Volunteers — many from neighboring police departments — packed DPA headquarters to help prepare for Monday night's candlelight vigil at Dallas City Hall. 

"The thin blue line, we're all brothers and sisters," said Heath Wester, president of the Texas Municipal Police Association. "So a part of us died as well, and we want to lend our helping hand and support to Dallas [police] and all of Dallas to let them know they're not alone." 

"To just imagine the pain that they're going through, we're just hopeful that we're able to just show a little bit of support and ease some of that pain," said Ray Hunt, president of the Houston Police Officers Union.

Dallas police said they were touched by the overwhelming show of support.

"It's unbelievably moving," said DPA First Vice President Fred Frazier. "You know, you break down at night, when you start thinking about everything when everybody's gone. But when you go back to work, you're so busy, your mind just has to go back to work. We'll heal, its just going to take some time." 

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