At Lemons to Lemonade, our mission is to create a nurturing community where grieving children and teens build resilience through friendship, connection, and shared experiences after the loss of a parent or sibling.
Together, we help children honor their loved ones, build meaningful friendships, and discover they are never alone on their grief journey.
Sophia was just five years old when her dad passed away. In the years that followed, she found comfort, friendship, and hope through The Centers for Good Grief in Memphis, Tennessee. There, she discovered something that would shape the rest of her life: grief doesn’t have to be faced alone.
Years later, after moving to Orange County, Sophia hoped to find that same sense of community for grieving children. Instead, she discovered there were virtually no programs created specifically for children navigating the loss of a parent or sibling.
Believing every grieving child deserved the same sense of connection and support that had helped her through her own grief, Sophia wrote Lemons to Lemonade: A Grief Workbook. But as the project came to life, she realized children needed more than a workbook—they needed friendship, peer support, and a community where they could heal together.
Looking for a way to bring that vision to life, Sophia discovered the Dragon Kim Foundation and invited her friend Avery Lind to apply alongside her. Avery’s mom passed away when she was just three years old, and the two shared a deep understanding of childhood grief. Together, they were accepted into the Dragon Kim Fellowship, where they received mentorship, leadership training, and seed funding that helped transform Sophia’s vision into reality.
The first Lemons to Lemonade grief camp confirmed what Sophia had believed all along: grieving children needed more than a one-week program. They needed an ongoing community where they could build friendships, stay connected, and know they were never alone in their grief.
As each year passed, the need became even more evident. What began as one summer camp has continued to grow into year-round meetups, youth leadership opportunities, advocacy efforts, school and healthcare partnerships, and a growing network of volunteers, clinicians, and community supporters dedicated to childhood grief.
Today, Lemons to Lemonade is helping reshape childhood grief support throughout Orange County. Working alongside its Board of Directors, schools, hospitals, community organizations, volunteers, clinicians, and families, Sophia continues to lead the organization’s long-term vision of ensuring every grieving child has access to connection, support, and a place to belong.
While much has grown since that first camp, the vision remains the same: ensuring every grieving child has access to connection, support, and a place to belong. For Lemons to Lemonade, this is just the beginning.
What began as a shared vision between two young women has grown into a community dedicated to ensuring grieving children throughout Orange County have a place to belong.
Founder & President
Today, Sophia leads the organization’s vision and long-term growth, building community partnerships, leading fundraising efforts, advocating for childhood grief awareness, and expanding grief support for children throughout Orange County.
Leading the Mission
Co-Founder
When Avery was just three years old, her mom passed away. Years later, she joined Sophia in the Dragon Kim Fellowship to help bring Lemons to Lemonade to life. Together, they helped launch the organization’s first grief camp, creating a place where grieving children could build friendships, feel understood, and realize they were not alone.
Today, Avery supports Lemons to Lemonade and is an important part of our annual grief camp and monthly community meetups.
Learn more about the Board of Directors, Teen Advisory Program, and the dedicated individuals helping guide the future of Lemons to Lemonade.
Watch Sophia and Avery present the original Lemons to Lemonade vision during the Dragon Kim Fellowship—these presentations became the foundation for today’s organization.
Lemons to Lemonade is dedicated to supporting children through their grief, one camp, one story, one friendship at a time. Join us in making a lasting impact. Through donations, volunteering, or simply spreading the word, you can help turn lemons into lemonade for children facing loss. Every contribution builds a stronger, more compassionate community.
When Sophia later moved to Orange County, California, she was struck by the lack of grief support resources available for children in her new community. Realizing how crucial such programs had been in her own healing process, she felt a strong desire to create something similar for grieving children in Orange County. Inspired by her time at the Center for Good Grief, Sophia wrote Lemons to Lemonade: A Grief Workbook, hoping to share the strategies that had helped her with others.
Not long after, Sophia approached Avery with an idea: to start a grief camp for kids like them. Avery, having also felt the absence of support programs for grieving children in their community, immediately agreed. Together, they co-founded Lemons to Lemonade, a camp designed to empower children who have faced the loss of a loved one.
Through their involvement with the Dragon Kim Foundation and St. Margaret’s William N. Moseley Venture to Serve Project, Sophia and Avery were able to turn their dream into reality. With leadership training, funding, and mentorship, they launched their first Lemons to Lemonade Grief Camp, supported by St. Margaret’s Episcopal School as part of their community-driven initiative. The camp blends fun, creativity, and healing, allowing children to express their emotions through art, outdoor activities, and group sharing, all in a safe, nurturing environment.
After completing the Dragon Kim Fellowship Program, Sophia and Avery decided to continue their mission by creating a nonprofit. Their goal is to ensure that grieving children in Orange County have a space to connect, heal, and build resilience, just as they did.
Lemons to Lemonade is more than just a camp; it’s a movement dedicated to providing grieving children with the resources, community, and support they need to thrive. Inspired by the memories of Sophia’s father, Jerry Donald, and Avery’s mother, Holly Lind, this project is just the beginning of their efforts to bring hope to grieving children everywhere—their way of turning life’s most difficult lemons into something truly sweet.
