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Aubrey and Danny, two Palm Beach Gardens siblings, raise money for law enforcement

Posted at 6:05 PM, Jul 22, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-22 18:05:38-04

There has been an outpouring of support for law enforcement nationwide following  ambushes in Dallas and Baton Rouge.

In Palm Beach County, a brother and sister are doing their part to show their appreciation - one cup at a time.

"My brother, he just came up with this idea about making a lemonade stand," says 11-year-old Aubrey Barnes.

For Aubrey and her 10-year-old brother Danny, the intention behind the fundraiser was quite mature.

"We decided we were going to do it for law enforcement because of all the shootings that have been happening," Aubrey says.

Even for these two, the images of the past few weeks were inescapable.

"They're getting shot, and I don't like that," Danny says.

"We wanted to show the law enforcement and police and deputies and everyone that someone out there still did care about them," Aubrey says. 

So they got to work.

"My mom and I made the brownies and the cookies," Aubrey says.

"I made the sweet tea," Danny chimed in.

Last Sunday, they set up their stand right in their front yard.

"We were out by the sign waving try to get people to come in," Danny says.

The reaction was instant.

"They asked, like, 'what we were doing, what we had?' " Aubrey says. "And some of them just donated and they just gave us money and they didn't want anything."

Members of law enforcement even showed up to show their appreciation.

After just 4 hours they pulled in more than $500 - a number that was matched by two local companies.

The grand total raised; $1,870.

"That feels really good," Danny says.

The two siblings an example of what a few lemons and a little humanity can do.

"We had to have a lot of heart into this, because if we didn't have a lot of heart, then we wouldn't have made this happen," Aubrey says.

The money raised is going to the 'Broken Star Fund' to benefit Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputies and their families.

In a statement Friday, the sheriff's office says the deputies are "so appreciative of their efforts".