A young soccer enthusiast was selling lemonade in the midst of a heatwave to raise funds so his team can compete in Portugal.
He had the surprise of his life when popular TikTok influencers spotted him and help him fulfill his soccer dreams.
Lexy and Austin Burke are familiar faces on the famous social media app TikTok. They are known for their philanthropic efforts such as giving back to their community in Nashville.
They were headed for lunch one day when a young boy caught their attention. He was selling lemonade on the side of the road, in the middle of a heatwave.
The couple instantly knew in their hearts that the boy needed help. They were so inspired by what they saw and posted his video on TikTok as a part of their “Venmo Challenge”, in which Lexy’s followers send money to her Venmo account.
She uses this money to tip large amounts to servers and film their reactions.
This time, they wanted to help the young boy named Niko, who didn’t mind the scorching heat of the sun to make some money.
The couple told him they were going to the bank and asked him to wait for them until 4 in the afternoon.
In just half an hour, the couple raised $500 to help Niko. The couple already had $500 more to gift Niko with and while they were headed to the lemonade stand, someone sent another $100. They wanted to surprise Niko with their heartfelt gift, which was $1,100 in total.
When the couple came back to buy from the boy’s lemonade stand, Lexy asked Niko if he was trying to raise money for anything. He said he was on a competitive soccer team and they were invited to compete in Portugal.
Sadly, Niko’s family did not have a lot of money so he thought of setting up a lemonade stand to raise some funds.
The couple bought three-dollar lemonade from him and he was so shocked when they gave him a $1100 tip. “We’re going to give you this,” Lexy said while giving Niko an envelope. “Keep the change.”
Niko, who was only visiting Nashville could not believe his luck. “You guys just helped me go to Portugal.”
He excitedly called his father on FaceTime to share his good news. He said that he just went to Nashville from Washington D.C. because his father had a heart attack.
“There’s no reason I should have been here,” Niko said. “But it’s crazy that like I was here at this time.”
On the one hand, the couple was very happy and fulfilled that they made a difference in someone’s life again with the help of their followers.
“I’ve had a little over $400 in my Venmo from previous challenges and have been waiting for the right moment to surprise someone. As soon as we saw Niko, we knew we wanted to do anything we could to help him,” said Lexy.
“I’m so grateful that our paths crossed and that social media was able to help us share his story and be able to support someone that was working so hard and more than deserving.”
Austin shared that he had always wanted to give to a lemonade stand because he grew up doing them with her brother and sisters.
“Seeing how hard this kid was working in 102-degree weather is a type of work ethic you can’t teach. Niko is an extraordinarily special kid with big dreams and that’s something Lexy and I understand all too well.”
This was not the only time the Burkes shared their remarkable generosity as they have been doing the Venmo Challenge since 2020, which made them raise over $300,000 for over 170 recipients.
Watch this video and see how the Burke couple surprised Niko with a tip that can change his life forever: