A determined and enterprising Suffolk 12-year-old has been making a difference with lemonade and cookies for the past six years. It’s up to members of the community to help his ongoing fundraising efforts to help children in need.

According to a story by Kellie Adamson in Tuesday’s paper, Parker Duke and his family set up the tent for the sixth year of the Parker Duke Lemonade Stand on Saturday. Parker raised more than $8,600 for the ForKids organization that day alone with lemonade to go with fresh-baked cookies from his mother, Nicole Harrell.

He raised $5,202 from his lemonade stand last year and plans to double that this summer. With at least eight fire trucks and 10 police officers stopping by to donate on Saturday, Parker and his family are confident that they can get this done.

“You would have thought something huge was happening on our street,” Parker’s dad, Eley Duke, told the Suffolk News-Herald.

The family plans to present the donation to ForKids Chief Executive Officer Thaler McCormick and the organization at some point next week. ForKids is one of Virginia’s largest providers for homeless families, helping more than 47,500 people annually through holistic housing programs and extended family services, according to the organization’s website.

Parker made a five-year commitment to raise an additional $5,000 specifically for the new ForKids facility on West Constance Road, which the Mary Morton Parsons Foundation has also agreed to match in support.

Nicole Harrell and Eley Duke are simply impressed by how their son continues to help ForKids.

“It’s been six years now, and he has raised over $18,000,” Duke told the Suffolk News-Herald. “We are beyond proud of him and he’s done a lot of this himself, and he has a good support group.”

According to The Campaign ForKids Facebook page, Parker raised $8,918 as of Tuesday morning, inching closer and closer to his goal. Search “The Campaign ForKids” on Facebook for more information on how to support the cause.