'Lemonade for Lainey': Lemonade stand raises over $1K for family of 13-year-old who died unexpectedly — boosting $79K in GoFundMe donations

Not long after, students in the community started a lemonade stand dubbed “Lemonade for Lainey,” which included a QR code for a GoFundMe for Lainey’s parents and older sister.

In total, the lemonade stand reportedly raised more than $1,000 online, plus an undetermined amount of cash payments made in person. The GoFundMe currently sits at more than $79,000 of its $90,000 goal.

A statement from the school district called Lainey “a cherished and vibrant part of our community” while the Scroggs family told People that the lemonade stand is “one of the many selfless acts carried out by our community to honor our special girl,” thanking everyone “for surrounding us with so much love and support during the most heartbreaking time of our lives.”

Funeral costs can turn a heartbreaking loss into a financial crisis

Anyone who’s arranged a funeral for a loved one knows that the costs can escalate quickly.

“It’s expensive to die, let’s just face it,” Howard Dvorkin, the founder and chairman of Debt.com, warned in a 2023 interview.

In fact, industry estimates put the average funeral cost at around $7,000 to $12,000, though cemetery, burial and other fees can push the total higher. A variety of factors go into the cost, from the type of service, if any, to whether the body is buried or cremated.

Location is also a significant factor, with Dignity Memorial noting that the average $8,985 price tag in states like Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire runs almost $1,600 higher than the $7,390 cost in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho or Montana.

“Funeral costs vary greatly by region due to differences in cost of living, land and real estate costs, staffing costs and other factors,” they added on their site.

Meanwhile, a 2025 Debt.com survey found that 37% of Americans reported taking on debt after a loved one’s death — a number that’s up from 14% the year prior. The report also showed that 57% of Americans would go into debt today if they had to cover a funeral expense.

The majority of the debt landed on credit cards or personal loans, with 19% admitting to having difficulty re-paying the debt and 17% saying they put off other bills to do so.

Christine Gabriel is one example of a person struggling with funeral-related debt. She told CBS News last year that “[she] lost [her] father and [her] job on the same day.”

Her dad died without funds to cover a funeral, leaving Christine and her sister Mary Wenzel to pay out of pocket for the $12,000 service — which they’re doing via $300 monthly payments.

How to honor a loved one without taking on debt

April St. Onge, the Chief Administrative Officer for the Funeral Consumers Alliance (FCA) — a national non-profit protecting consumer rights in the funeral industry — told Moneywise that “We encourage all consumers to pre-plan, but not necessarily to pre-pay.”

That’s because pre-paying for a funeral or burial plot could mean a loss of some or all of your money if you try to cancel or move, or if insurance pays out less than expected.

Instead, she advises the best way forward is to put your funeral plans in writing, leave copies with your family and funeral home and consider opening a Payable on Death (POD) account that releases funds to a specified beneficiary upon your death.

For unexpected deaths — or if you’re covering the funeral of a loved one who didn’t have a prepaid arrangement — St. Onge said that “the most cost-effective arrangements are usually direct cremation or direct burial without embalming or viewing, though families can still hold a memorial service afterward.”

She added that asking the funeral home to refrigerate the body instead of embalming it, buying your own casket or urn from a third-party retailer like Walmart or Costco, using a cardboard box for cremation or renting a casket for a viewing can also help keep costs down.

St. Onge also recommends calling different funeral homes to request a general price list of their various services, which is required by law via the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule — one that also ensures that a funeral home can’t pressure you into any unwanted purchases.