On a 90-degree day this past week, the Schulte girls and their friends held a lemonade stand for the Ben Smiles Memorial Foundation.
A few months back, I announced a summer fundraising campaign for Ben Smiles here on the blog. My Fox Valley friend Elizabeth Gerlach and her husband Rob started the foundation in honor of their son Ben.
Ben, who attended Buddy Break at Chapelstreet Church alongside our Elsa, passed one year ago. Such an unimaginable heartbreak. After numerous viruses and hospital stays, he caught Adenovirus and passed away from respiratory failure. Ben was a joyful boy, who lit up many, many lives. He had dear friends who cared about him, and he laughed and smiled a lot.
In fact, it's his smile that motivated Elizabeth and Rob to start Ben Smiles, which donates adapted toys, communication tools and other devices to children with developmental delays. As the momma of a beauty with special needs, I can tell you... therapy toys are expensive and not convenient to obtain. But when you find the right one, they can bring joy to a child for years. Elsa still loves her nearly $200 waterfall musical bead toy, which is a lot like this:
Here are some photos from our lemonade stand. Elizabeth and her kiddos were able to stop by, which meant so much! And a huge thank you to our friends and neighbors for their support.
Lemonade stand tip: When traditional marketing means aren't resulting in sales, yell "LEMONADE" from the end of the driveway...
Our setup, which included white cheddar popcorn and - to keep everyone in our yard longer - soft batch chocolate-chip cookies...
Pictured: The core lemonade crew. Not pictured: Moms and babysitters, babies in strollers and carriers, two shy toddlers, and my youngest, who slept through most of the fun.
The fruits of our labor, all for Ben Smiles!
The beautiful Gerlach family - so glad you could make it and meet our neighborhood friends!
Fun, right? If you'd like to host a lemonade stand for Ben Smiles, here's how in 5 simple steps:
- Set up your stand with all the fixins.
- Decorate a sign that says "Lemonade for Ben Smiles."
- Work your magic, and sell that lemonade!
- Share your stand pics on Facebook and Instagram, and tag Ben Smiles in your posts. (#bensmiles/@ben.smiles)
- Pass along your donation to Ben Smiles HERE.
The lemonade stand campaign is a great way to undertake a summer bucket list item, while also helping others and spreading the word about an amazing charity. Visit Ben Smiles on Facebook to notify Elizabeth of your stand and share your pics, to keep the fun and inspiration running through the rest of the summer!