UPDATE: Since this story aired, an anonymous donor heard his story on 7 News and wanted to gift him a brand-new bike.
"It was crazy, it showed that people cared about me and my situation," said McCarter.
ORIGINAL: Gabriel McCarter is serving cold drinks in Kenmore during this extreme heat in Western New York.
"It's been very good. I've been making lots of money," McCarter said.
The money that the 12-year-old is receiving from his lemonade stand is going toward a new bike after his was stolen.
"I ride it every day and one day — they just took it," he added.
McCarter says he was at the park with friends when an older kid stole it from him.
"He took my front wheel, flipped it up, and pushed me off of it," he said. "I fell off my bike and he just ran off with it. I was upset."
McCarter's dad, Philip McCarter Jr., says he bought his son the bike about a month ago.
"And the sad part is, it was stolen probably a week after he had got the bike," he said. "It sucked, you know. I bought it with my hard-earned money, so to hear someone take it like that hurt me."
McCarter decided to open up a lemonade stand to raise money for a BMX. The bike usually costs a couple hundred dollars. So far, he's made about $70.
"That's why I'm gonna keep going and try to get to that goal," McCarter said.
The City of Good Neighbors is helping him reach that goal. McCarter's mom recently posted what happened to her son on Facebook. Many people have been showing support and even offering to donate their bikes.
"Somebody said that they saw the post from Cheektowaga and they're like, 'Yeah, let's go support him,'" McCarter said. "I mean that's how you see the community helping out and they care about people out here."
You can find the lemonade stand on Parkwood Avenue toward the Delaware Avenue side.
