The fundraising committee of the second annual Good Lemonade Day is proud to announce that $17,500 was raised at the event held on June 3. With nearly 70 lemonade stands held in 17 different BC communities all on the same day, the event was created to provide kids with a fun way to help support a BC charity. The recipient of this year’s Good Lemonade Day donations is JoeAnna’s House, a home-away-from-home for families with a loved one receiving care at the Kelowna General Hospital.
In addition to Prestige Hotels and Resorts hosting a lemonade stand at each of their properties, there were more than 50 BC families that hosted a lemonade stand in their neighborhoods, greatly contributing to the overall funds raised.
A mother of one of the participating families, Karen Tse Nunn, says, “We were so excited to be a part of the second annual Good Lemonade Day. Living in the small town of Fernie, our family and many of our friends have experienced the stress and uncertainty around travelling to a faraway city to receive medical care. I remember vividly what a scramble it was when our day-old baby was airlifted to hospital from Fernie. I also remember meeting dozens of other moms and dads who found themselves and their children unexpectedly stranded in a new city while their baby was in the NICU. This is the reason why we support JoeAnna’s House, which gives families a much-needed place to stay while their loved one receives medical care in Kelowna.”
Each lemonade stand was given a starter pack of supplies including two t-shirts, lemonade mix, signage and balloons. Many of the stands went the extra mile by also selling cookies and other treats in an effort to boost their donations, and really took their creativity to the next level with added décor and signage. Many of the family-run stands raised several hundred dollars in just a few short hours which is an incredible achievement, with one Salmon Arm family raising more than $1,500! Most stands were located in the Kelowna area, however, there were also family stands in Smithers, Cranbrook, Kamloops, Fernie, Salmon Arm and Vernon.
The event would not have happened without key partners who believed in the idea and came on board with financial support. The partners at Laing Service and Maintenance were enthusiastic about the idea and came on board for the second year as the event’s Presenting Sponsor and also hosted the lemonade stand at JoeAnna’s House. Prestige Hotels and Resorts was instrumental in helping organize the event, and all 15 Prestige properties across BC hosted lemonade stands, JoeAnna’s House is named after the Prestige founders Josef and Anna Huber. The committee would also like to thank Gulik Design, Gordon Food Services, ACE Courier, Source Graphics and Print Co. and BC Sportswear for coming onboard with their incredible gifts in kind.
JoeAnna’s House features 20 guestrooms, a family kitchen and common area, kids’ play area and work out facility. It is just steps away from Kelowna General Hospital, providing accommodations for hundreds of out-of-town BC families with loved ones receiving care who need assistance off-setting travel and medical expenses.
The committee says they hope to offer the event on an annual basis and grow it every year. Last year’s event raised $17,200.
For more information on the event and to see a collection of photos from various lemonade stands across BC, please visit the following webpages: https://goodlemonadeday.ca/ and https://goodlemonadeday.ca/gallery/