Dear GUMC Family, Thank you so much to all of you who donated to our GUMC children's lemonade stand on Sunday, September 28. Together we raised $425 for childhood cancer research! On our website we raised an additional $400 for a total of 855! We held the lemonade stand for three important reasons:
1. In honor of my friend, Heidi's daughter, Cambri, who is 3 years old and is battling leukemia. In spite of all their family is going through, the Jewell's organized six other lemonade stands in addition to ours that same weekend to raise money to fight childhood cancer not only for their daughter, but all of the children and their families who are hoping for a cure. They are truly amazing people. Heidi said: "Wow... what an absolutely amazing weekend. I have been so excited to share our grand total from our lemonade stand sales this weekend. We are so very grateful for all of the people who took on the job of holding their own stand in their neighborhood to help us raise awareness and money for Childhood Cancer Research. All of our funds will be donated to Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. I originally set a goal of $500. Ben said to me, "Heidi, we can make way more than that. I think you should shoot for $2,000." I'll be honest, I thought we would never reach that goal. And we have FAR exceeded that goal! This is one of the few times I am happy that Ben was right and I was wrong. While the research this money provides is a huge benefit, the love and support filled our hearts and gave us a desperately needed boost to continue to fight for Cambri and all of the wonderful kids fighting cancer. Thank you to all of our friends and family who held stands or donated money. We have the BEST support system imaginable. Our grand total, which included 8 different stands and 2 online donation sites, is $5,123.94! That funds almost 3 weeks of research for childhood cancer! What a surge of emotion, sure does bring tears to my eyes."
2. Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation provides grants to childhood cancer researchers and support for families undergoing treatment for pediatric cancer. Did you know that only a little more than 4 percent of the National Cancer Institute's annual budget goes toward childhood cancers, yet cancer is the number one disease that kills children?! The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society allocates 8 percent of what's donated to research for cures for kids. In the past ten years, there have been nine drug approvals specifically indicated for pediatric cancer, which is a fraction of the number of adult cancer-fighting drugs approved each year. Childhood cancer research is grossly underfunded and needs money to find a cure.
3. It was a wonderful way to engage our children in a mission project. I introduced the idea to them by reading the book, Alex and the Amazing Lemonade Stand, which tells the story of Alex Scott, a little girl with cancer. She wanted to have a lemonade stand to raise money for "her" hospital so that they could find a cure for cancer and other children would not have to go through it like her. She started a movement and encouraged other kids to hold lemonade stands around the country to raise money, which then led to the foundation. Our GUMC children were so engaged and excited to help! We will continue to do various children's mission projects throughout the year so that our children are actively engaged in our mission of becoming disciples of Jesus Christ to change the world! If you would still like to make a tax-deductible donation, you may do so at our Team Cambri - GUMC website,
http://www.alexslemonade.org/mypage/1119933.
Thank you so much!
Michelle Barrows,
mlkbarrows@yahoo.com, 616-808-1581.
