Dogged Determination: Washington County girl鈥檚 lemonade stand brings sweetness to sour times at Humane Society
Averi Weppler, left, and Autumn Hughes raised money for the Humane Society of the Ohio Valley by setting up a lemonade stand on July 19. (Photo provided by the Humane Society of the Ohio Valley)
Autumn Hughes and her family purchased supplies to donate to the Humane Society of the Ohio Valley after raising about $1,200 in collaboration with Texas Roadhouse on July 18. Her family spent half of the money on pet supplies for the shelter and donated the remaining cash to the shelter on July 20. (Photo provided by the Humane Society of the Ohio Valley)
Baxter, right, was chosen as the Humane Society of the Ohio Valley鈥檚 goodwill ambassador and attended both the Texas Roadhouse fundraiser and the lemonade stand. He was adopted by the Hughes family on Wednesday and is seen here with Autumn and their other beagle, Trixie. (Photo provided by the Humane Society of the Ohio Valley)
Hunter Hughes, Autumn鈥檚 brother, helped with the fundraising process by making the signs and collecting money at Texas Roadhouse on July 18. (Photo provided by the Humane Society of the Ohio Valley)
Averi Weppler, left, and Autumn Hughes raised money for the Humane Society of the Ohio Valley by setting up a lemonade stand on July 19. (Photo provided by the Humane Society of the Ohio Valley)
Autumn Hughes and her family purchased supplies to donate to the Humane Society of the Ohio Valley after raising about $1,200 in collaboration with Texas Roadhouse on July 18. Her family spent half of the money on pet supplies for the shelter and donated the remaining cash to the shelter on July 20. (Photo provided by the Humane Society of the Ohio Valley)
Baxter, right, was chosen as the Humane Society of the Ohio Valley鈥檚 goodwill ambassador and attended both the Texas Roadhouse fundraiser and the lemonade stand. He was adopted by the Hughes family on Wednesday and is seen here with Autumn and their other beagle, Trixie. (Photo provided by the Humane Society of the Ohio Valley)
Hunter Hughes, Autumn鈥檚 brother, helped with the fundraising process by making the signs and collecting money at Texas Roadhouse on July 18. (Photo provided by the Humane Society of the Ohio Valley)
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MARIETTA -- Autumn Hughes heard about the struggles the Humane Society of the Ohio Valley is facing with overcrowding and wanted to help.
At 8 years old, Hughes organized a lemonade stand fundraiser that she scheduled and hosted from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Putnam Elementary School in Devola on July 19.
Autumn's aunt, Teresa Foster, shared the details online, which gained so much attention it was shared with Texas Roadhouse.
"Texas Roadhouse was having an HSOV fundraiser the day before and so we got connected with them," said Autumn's dad, Jacob.
The restaurant in Marietta invited Autumn to their event to raise awareness for hers. Jacob said anyone who wanted to donate to the society could give 10% of their bill to the fundraiser that evening.
"She loves animals, and she enjoys doing her lemonade stands," said Jacob.
After the successful fundraising event at Texas Roadhouse on July 18, Autumn spent all of her Saturday morning preparing her lemonade stand on July 19.
Jacob said the family helped out by making signs. Autumn's brother Hunter was a huge help in the process and made many of the signs and posters.
"We raised over a thousand dollars," said Autumn, whose original goal was $600.
After the back-to-back fundraising events, Autumn was able to purchase supplies at We Lov Pets and donate all them to the shelter on July 20. The supplies included cat and dog food, cleaning supplies, pet toys, treats and more.
Autumn and her family delivered a van load of supplies to the shelter along with the remaining amount of $600 in cash.
Humane Society representatives met with Washington County commissioners on Thursday and said they were housing up to 120 dogs this summer at the no-kill shelter, when their capacity is about 50.
But Autumn didn't only make a delivery to the shelter. She also wound up taking something home.
Baxter the beagle was one of the dogs the shelter brought to attend both the Texas Roadhouse and lemonade stand fundraiser. There was a selection of dogs available for adoption, and the Hughes family decided Baxter was the one for them.
"We already have one beagle but Baxter looked so much like our other dog, and Autumn loves beagles," said Jacob.
Baxter was the HSOV's Goodwill Ambassador and instantly connected with Autumn. Jacob said they ended up adopting him on Wednesday and he's been a great addition to the family.
For more information about the HSOV and adoptions, go to .
Amber Phipps can be reached at aphipps@newsandsentinel.com.