A third annual fundraising initiative started by a young pair of siblings from Niagara-on-the-Lake will quench the thirst of Niagara residents in June and brighten the summers of several children.
Mountainview LemonAid Day will raise funds for the Family and Children’s Services foundation, for a third year in a row, on Saturday, June 8.
Jayden Polgrabia, who started the initiative with his sister Kaitlyn, has begun a second year of talking to councils across Niagara to tell them about the project, including Thorold.
“We wanted to raise money to send kids just like us to summer camp,” said Jayden, who last year received the Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy award from the Golden Horseshoe Chapter of The Association of Fundraising Professionals.
He was 13 when he received the award last November.
Last year’s LemonAid Day brought in $100,000 for the cause, which resulted in more than 500 weeks of summer camps for about 350 local youth.
“This year, we are hoping for an even bigger and better event,” he told Thorold Councillors yesterday evening.
About 100 stands were set up across Niagara last year as part of the event.
Organizers supply participants with the tools to open up shop, including signage, a stand, lemonade concentrate and pitchers to pour from.
“Families supported by FACS sometimes lack the financial resources to send their kids to camp, and we truly believe that all children should have the opportunity to have those experiences in childhood,” said Jayden.
Funds raised send kids on week-long day camps in Niagara, overnight camps outside the region, specialty camps to support children with complex special needs. It also supports camping trips with foster parents, and special camp-at-home baskets for more than 100 families, filled with sports equipment, games, and activities.
As title sponsor of the event, the Mountainview Building Group also provided everything families needed to run a lemonade stand, including the stand, hats, T-shirts, and more, allowing 100 per cent of donations to go directly to helping children served by FACS attend summer camp.
Registration opens April 22, and more information is available at www.facsfoundation.org or by calling 905-937-7731.
