SAGINAW TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A Michigan girl is helping veterans one cup of lemonade at a time, WNEM reports.

Sammie Striker is making lemonade for a good cause. She started the tradition four years ago when she was just 8 years old.

The first couple of years she sold the lemonade from her driveway in Saginaw Township. The last two years she was in front of American Legion Post 439.

Last year, the 12-year-old sold more than 65 gallons of lemonade – raising about $1,500 for the VA hospital in Saginaw.

This year, she set the bar even higher.

“I wanna raise $2,000,” Sammie said in June.

One month later, the natural born entrepreneur presented a check for $2,111.53 to the VA hospital.

Sammie asked for $1 for each cup of lemonade, but what she received might surprise you.

“A lot of people give me like $20s and $10s for just one cup of lemonade,” she said.

Sammie said there’s no greater joy than turning those sour lemons into sweet lemonade and watching the community pitch in to support those who put their lives on the line for their country.

“It means a lot because it means they really care about people and they want to help too,” she said.

Sammie said she gets a lot of encouragement from her customers.

“They said that we need more people like you in the community because we can take all the help we can get for the hospitals and because there’s a lot of people that need help,” she said.

The VA folks were floored that such a young entrepreneur could raise so much cold, hard cash for the vets they serve.

“It’s a great message to other students and other young people to be as generous and as hard working as she is,” said Jeffrey Wendt, with the Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center.

Sammie plans on raising $5,000 for the VA next summer over a five-day period.