Turning Lemonade into Something Special

When it comes to giving, 11-year-old Kyle Orent is pretty exceptional.

He even auctioned off his own toys, according to Newsday, his local newspaper on Long Island in New York.

"I like helping people," he said, in an interview on New York City TV station WNYW.

Kyle has spent the past four years helping people.

It all started with a lemonade stand in front of his house in Northport, New York.

"When I was 7, I wanted a lemonade stand for my birthday," he told WNYW anchors Greg Kelly and Rosanna Scotto. "I started in front of my house. But then I started going to local soccer games and baseball games."

Kyle says he never charged for the lemonade.

He just asked for donations.

In the first year, he raised $20,000, his mother told Newsday.

And as of this month, he has raised $125,000, according to WNYW - although most of the donations now come from auctions, he says.

"I don't think I can really sell lemonade when I'm 11," he said, on WNYW's "Good Day New York" show.

According to Newsday, Kyle writes to celebrities and famous athletes and asks them to autograph dog collars.

Then he auctions off the autographed collars on the Internet.

The main beneficiary of Kyle's giving has been a group called "Canine Companions for Independence."

That's a group that trains dogs to help people with disabilities.

Why "Canine Companions for Independence?"

"Because I like animals and I like helping people," he told Scotto and Kelly.

Kyle recently got a "Local Heroes" award for his charitable work, according to Newsday.

But his work is far from finished.

He told the paper he wants to be a professional fundraiser when he grows up.

What's his next project?

"I'm trying to do something called 'Cooks That Care,'" he told WNYW. "I'm trying to get like local restaurants to donate a certain percentage of their earnings for like one day."

With Kyle's record so far, it's hard to imagine him not succeeding at this as well.

And as for the lemonade stand, Kyle's mom told reporters he hopes to recruit some younger kids to take it over.

After all, according to Kyle's own website, his motto is, "You are never too little to make a difference."