3-year-old uses lemonade stand sales to buy diapers for moms in need

Three-year-old Ava Lewis is doing huge things for her North Carolina community with her little lemonade stand.

Along with her mom Maggie Lewis, the toddler now sells gallons of lemonade at her enormously popular stand outside her mom's hair salon, The Lather Lounge.

The mini mogul is something of a figure in her city of Durham now, and Lewis told ABC Raliegh-Durham station WTVD that people often recognize her daughter when the two are out in public.

"I said I was going to retire at 40," Lewis told WTVD. "I guess Ava is going to have me retire sooner than that. People have been popping up even when we close."

This week, the itty-bitty businesswoman sold enough lemonade to reach her goal of buying baby wipes and diapers for children in need.

On Monday morning, she and her mom delivered several boxes of the supplies to the Good Samaritan Inn, a homeless shelter for women and mothers with children, which is operated by the Durham Rescue Mission.

According to the mission's website, the Inn houses an average of 130 women and children each night.

"It just means the world to us to see a young person...that is thinking of others," said Inn director Gail Mills. "It just makes my day. Such a heartwarming experience to meet little Ava and to see how her mother is teaching her at such a young age to care for others and to share her blessing with people who are having a hard time."