Boy who inspired thousands with lemonade stand gets a fabulous surprise for his 10th birthday

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Friday afternoon, Joshua Smith, who is homeschooled, had no idea of the surprise that was about to come knocking on the door.

Joshua gained national attention this summer when he raised thousands of dollars at his lemonade and popcorn stand to help the cash-strapped City of Detroit.

Kevin Cook, an executive from Playworld Systems in Pennsylvania, saw Joshua's story on World News With Diane Sawyer several weeks ago.

"My wife was sitting on the couch with me and looked at me and said 'Kevin, you are getting that young man a playground", said Cook.

And on Friday, Cook jumped on a flight from Pennsylvania to Michigan to surprise Joshua by telling him that Playworld Systems is going to build a $50,000 playground structure at a nearby park.

Playworld Systems is working with the City of Detroit to finalize the details.

And today is the perfect day for a surprise. It's Joshua's birthday. He turns 10.

Joshua told 7 Action News, "I really feel great!"

"Happy Birthday and we wanted to give this to you as part of your vision and for your birthday", said Cook as he showed Joshua a colorful rendering of the playground set that is on track for a grand opening on September 29.

The playground structure is made by Activo Playgrounds and includes elements that spin, twist and bounce.

Rhonda Smith, Joshua's mom, tells 7 Action News, "I thought about what Joshua did and always wondered Lord how can we make this lasting? Not just a week in the summertime. And so when Kevin called and said that they were actually going to have a playground for the children, I said wow! This is something that's lasting and so I was just pleased and overjoyed".