Siblings running lemonade stand get $2,000 gift to attend Chicago Sky Barbie Night game

When life gives you lemons, you get Chicago Sky tickets.

That's what happened for for two young Roseland sisters who braved the hottest day of the year Tuesday to sell lemonade in hopes of raising enough money to buy tickets to attend Chicago Sky's Barbie Night game against the Indiana Fever.

Jade and Joy Lee, 12 and 11, set up a lemonade stand on the corner of 111th Street and Princeton Avenue with a goal of raising $700.

On Tuesday they received a gift of $2,000 for tickets to Friday night's game.

When philanthropist Early Walker, CEO of I’m Telling, Don’t Shoot, heard about the lemonade stand he said he wanted to make sure the sisters were able to attend.

"We have to support this, there’s no way in the world kids will continue to do this if we don’t support it," Walker said. "We talk about violence on the news all the time, we talk about the kids that are doing wrong in the community, but we don’t support this enough. It’s so cool just being able to see young entrepreneurs out here working towards something. It's amazing."

Walker also surprised the girls by offering to ferry them in limousine to and from the game and treat them to dinner at a restaurant.

Jade and Joy said they inherited their love of basketball from their dad, and although they watch every Chicago Sky game on TV their dream was to watch forward Angel Reese play in-person.

"I've been following her journey for long time," Jade said. "I'm happy, I'm surprised."

Brittany Powell-Lee said that when her daughters mentioned they wanted to go to a game she was on board until she saw the ticket prices.

"The cheapest ticket was over $200, and there are three of us," Powell-Lee said. " I had just bought all their school supplies and school uniforms. There was just no way for me to spend all that money."

Powell-Lee told her daughters that if they wanted to go to the game, they would have to work to come up with the money for it.

"The girls love to volunteer, and they had done a lemonade stand to raise money for St. Jude's in the past, so I thought it was a good idea to do it again," Powell-Lee said.

Powell-Lee said she was surprised by the gift but also grateful.

"This is a dream come true," she said. "I'm looking forward to the full experience, and I know they’re going to love it."

The girls set up their stand Monday with lemons, sugar, water and ice after school and were selling cups for $1.

Before receiving Walker's gift, the girls had raised close to $500, Powell-Lee said.

Several family members stood alongside the girls in a show of support. They waved signs and called out to neighbors to stop by and buy.

"This is really big for them," said their cousin Tyteana Givens, 24. "Even if this wasn’t for the game, we would still be out here. That’s just what we do in this family, we support each other."

Success isn't stoppng them: Jade and Joy will be back at work at their stand after school Wednesday, but there's a chance of showers.