Children, parents and teachers at Leika’s at Church Street put the aid in lemonade Wednesday when they set up a stand to collect donations by way of a cold beverage and cookies.

The sale, which will benefit victims of a recent tsunami and earthquake in Japan, tallied $503 by the time the last glass was sold, teacher Joy Green said.

Leika student Allen Michael Creech summed up the reason behind the school’s lemonade sale with a simple statement.

“They had a flood over there and they need our help,” he said.

The fundraiser, Green said, is part of the United Methodist Committee on Relief’s efforts to provide aid to victims of an earthquake and tsunami that rocked Japan.

An 8.9-magnitude earthquake — the most powerful in at least a century — struck just offshore Japan in March, killing thousands. Resulting problems with damaged nuclear plants have put even more people at risk since the initial earthquake and tsunami.

When the students found out, Green said they were eager to help.

“They were so excited,” she said. “They couldn’t wait. They are really having a lot of fun with this.”

The school’s efforts also gained support from the community, Green said.

“We had a lot of parents come by and we even had the Morgan Academy physics class come out,” she said. “That was great because a lot of them started out here and now they are juniors and seniors. It was great to watch them working with the children we have now.”

Their first priority, Green said, was to raise as much money as they could for the project. Their second, she said, is to get others on board.

“We are hoping we can inspire other people to make donations too,” she said.