West Stockbridge family runs lemonade stand for a good cause

WEST STOCKBRIDGE – A family in town has discovered a way to turn a childhood tradition into something more philanthropic.

This Saturday (June 8) from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (rain or shine), nine-year-old Carly Sturgis, with the help of her mom, Jenna Tremblay Sturgis, will host a lemonade stand at 123 State Line Rd. in West Stockbridge with proceeds going to childhood cancer research.

“I wanted to do it to help stop cancer,” Carly, a third grader at Muddy Brook Elementary School, told The Beacon.

The Sturgis family is one of more than 2,000 groups across the country participating in this weekend’s “Lemonade Days 2013,” an initiative of the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

The idea was started in 2000 by four-year-old Alexandra “Alex” Scott, a cancer patient who wanted to hold a lemonade stand to raise money to help find a cure for all children with cancer, according to the ALSF website.

Carly and her mom decided to host a stand after reading about Alex in a magazine.

“I’m all for it,” Ms. Sturgis said. “[Carly is] a pretty shy kid. I was excited that she was passionate about it.”

While this is the 10th year of the event nationwide, it is the second for Carly and her mom. Last year, they raised more than $230 at their stand and are hoping to raise at least $300 this year.

“It was a good start,” Ms. Sturgis said. “Maybe this year we’ll expand on that.”

There is no set charge for the lemonade (traditional yellow, pink and turquoise) or the snacks (brownies, cookies, cupcakes), instead stand customers are simply asked to make a donation at an amount of their choosing.

Those who can’t make it out to West Stockbridge can donate to Carly’s stand online at alexslemonade.org/mypage/111232. As of Wednesday afternoon, Carly’s stand has already raised $295.

Posted by Catherine M. Krummey on June 6, 2013. Filed under Community News,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry