8-year-old's lemonade stand helps out Marines
By BRITTANY LEVINE
The Orange County Register
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The neighbors joked that the prices at Mai Griffith's lemonade stand were too steep. They teased her that 75 cents a pop was three times the going rate.

But it's for the Marines, the 8-year-old from Dana Point told them.

News of the girl turning lemons into lemonade and then into cash to help buy supplies for Marines spread, and she sold almost 50 cups' worth that she made with her father from lemons picked off their backyard tree. She also sold Arnold Palmers (lemonade and iced tea) – a tongue-twister for Mai, who pronounces them "Armold Palmers."

She handed over all her earnings to the 5th Marine Regiment Support Group at a carwash fundraiser the Dana Point nonprofit organization held this month.

"I thought it would be nice to donate money for Marines, because when you give money to them, they get care packages with clean socks," said the third-grader at St. John's Episcopal School in Rancho Santa Margarita.

As she was about to leave the carwash, Mai found $30 on the ground. She donated that money, too, bumping her total gift to $76.

"She was just absolutely convinced that there was some kind of special meaning to her finding the money, that she found it so she could give it to the Marines," said her father, Alec Griffith, a television producer.

"Not only is she unselfish and thinks of others, but she has integrity and honesty far beyond her years," said Terry Rifkin, director of the Marine support group.

Dana Point Mayor Lisa Bartlett gave Mai a certificate of recognition during a City Council meeting Monday.

"She'll be a wonderful community leader one day, I have no doubt about that," Bartlett said.

Monday also was the birthday of Mai's grandfather Ned Griffith, who was a pilot in the Army Air Corps and a World War II prisoner of war. Mai and her grandfather had a special bond before he died a few years ago, and he instilled in her a respect for members of the service, her father said.

A Camp Pendleton representative attended the council meeting and thanked Mai for donating her hard-earned money.

"I wish my old man could have been there to see it," Alec Griffith said.

When Mai asked her father if she could have a lemonade stand one weekend, he said yes but suggested she donate her money to a charity.

"Why don't I do it for the Marines?" asked Mai, who handsqueezed the lemons and helped add sugar and water to the mix.

Mai is the first child to raise money independently for the 5th Marine Regiment Support Group. At the carwash, Marines dressed Mai in combat gear and treated her like a "little princess," Rifkin said.

"I thought it was really fun," Mai said. "I got to dress up in some really heavy suits."

In a few weeks, the Monarch Beach Sunrise Rotary Club plans to give Mai a Service Above Self award.

Contact the writer: blevine@ocregister.com or 949-492-5135

Ellie