Above: Reid Killingsworth, 3, and his sister, Tinley, 4, eat cupcakes after donating to Nathanial’s Helping Hand lemonade stand and Bible drive in Headland on Thursday. (Jay Hare/Dothan Eagle)

In just three hours, the time it takes to watch “The Lord of the Rings” or drive to Birmingham from Headland, 8-year-old Nathanial Solomon did more for other people than the average person will do during a full life span.

Thousands of dollars and more than 400 Bibles were donated to help other people because Nathanial wanted to be remembered for thinking about other people first.

Small children cleaned out piggy banks and clinked pennies together to drop in a donation box. The words “Nathanial’s Lemonade Stand Donations” were written on the front with a magic marker. The hastily arranged event went viral on social media. The Daniel Clements family from Newville saw a Facebook post Thursday morning and came to give money along with their “Gigi,” grandmother Ellen Haywood, who was visiting from Minnesota.

“This is just wonderful,” Haywood said.

Cancer is aggressively attacking Nathanial’s body and his health is deteriorating. He told his mother, Heather, he wanted to have a lemonade stand to raise money for a charitable organization that helped him. He also wanted people to donate Bibles for other children.

The event was originally scheduled for later this year, but moved up to Sept. 3 due to Nathanial’s worsening condition. When he arrived Thursday around 11:30 a.m., a stream of cars was pulling into Bruce’s Service Center on Highway 431 in Headland where the lemonade stand was set up. Volunteers, friends and strangers stopped in. Family wheeled Nathanial to a private room at the business where he could stay cool.

Nathanial Solomon’s last wish is helping many in Alabama. (contributed by the Solomon family)

“He has been talking about doing this for a long time. He’s got a big heart,” said Nathanial’s mother, Heather Corbin. “This is how Nathanial has always been. He has always been worried about other people more than himself.”

The money raised will help benefit Meredith’s Miracles, a nonprofit specializing in helping families financially during medical emergencies. The charity is named after Meredith McGlamory, a 5-year-old Wiregrass resident who died from cancer in 2003.

Meredith’s Miracles began with a lemonade stand.

Volunteers with Meredith’s Miracles and Covenant Hospice, along with some of Nathanial’s closest friends, helped make and serve lemonade, cupcakes and other goodies to the scores of people who came to give something Thursday.

Dylan Bentley, 8, and Nathanial became best friends after playing on the same T-ball team in Greenville. Dylan didn’t hesitate when asked what he likes about Nathanial.

“Everything,” Dylan said. “He’s a good friend.”

Dylan’s mother, Jessica Eastman, grew up with Heather Corbin. They had lost contact until their children started playing T-ball together.

“I think Heather has more faith than anybody,” Eastman said. “And Nathanial is just kind-hearted. He doesn’t see his situation as a bad situation. I don’t think most adults could say that if faced with this.”

Nathanial and his family recently moved to Headland and the community rallied around his fundraiser. Headland police directed traffic along Highway 431 to facilitate the stream of vehicles.

Covenant Hospice helped coordinate the event. The organization raised $10,000 through private donations to be used as seed money for the Nathanial Solomon Fund that will support some of his favorite charities.

The lemonade stand will become a regular event.

“To be 8, and have someone say to you ‘What would you like to do?’ It speaks so much to his heart that he wanted to give back to others. It’s such a lesson for all of us. We wanted to make sure that wish came true,” said Blythe Newsome, spokeswoman for Covenant Hospice.

The Bibles will be donated to the Alabama Children’s Home. By the end of the day, Nathanial’s event raised more than $13,000 and collected about 600 Bibles.

This story originally appeared in The Dothan Eagle and is used with permission by Alabama NewsCenter.