Monday, June 10, 2013

Mix, Pour, Find a Cure

This past weekend was National lemonade days for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.  In 2000 a little girl named Alex was diagnosed with Cancer and she and her brothers held their first Lemonade stand to raise money for kids with Cancer.  As of this year they, along with thousands of other kids around the country, have donated over 60 million to Cancer research and the care of children and their families struggling with Cancer.

We were introduced to Alex through a book her parents wrote after her passing to help other children understand her story.  A few weeks ago Shayden and I were reading it and I started to talk to him about how we could get involved, what he could do to make an impact and help other children.  It took about .1 seconds for him to decide we were DEFINITELY doing a lemonade stand and how could we get started!

So this past weekend we held our first lemonade stand along with 1,350 other stands across the nation.  And let me tell you, it was a total success.  My heart was literally bursting with joy to watch my little ones so eager to serve everyone that came.  Shayden and Quinton were a great team dumping ice and filling up cups.  While Quinton and Sutton were forced to take afternoon naps, Shayden stood strong by the stand the entire time and didn't allow a single cup to be served by anyone but him or Quinton.  He was gracious, kind and fully engaged...it was awesome!

Our goal was to raise $100, a small but mighty amount.  We were blown away by all our family, friends and neighbors who generously gave and have brought our total to over $500.  Shayden was thrilled and wanted to know if we could drive it to a hospital right away!  

Thank you to everyone who shared in this event with us.  Not only did you give to a great cause but you instilled community, faith and the heart of service into my children and I am forever grateful.  

Mixing up our lemonade

Our first customer - stopped on his 8 mile run

Team Testa

One very proud little boy

To learn more visit AlexsLemonade.org