Fort Erie girls squeeze huge fundraising amount on LemonAID Day

A group of young girls calling themselves the ‘Fort Erie Lemon Squeezies’ well surpassed their fundraising goal when they participated in LemonAID Day for a second year on Saturday.

The annual event, sponsored by Mountainview Homes and in support of Family and Children’s Services (FACS), is held across Niagara with close to 100 lemonade stands erected in support of the cause.

The money brought in sends kids to summer camps and with the $800 raised last year by the Lemon Squeezies, three young individuals benefitted from their efforts.

The group of young philanthropists were aiming to bring in $1,000 this year.

But according to a Facebook post late Saturday by Rachel Reaman, mom to one of the girls who participated, the group had blown past that goal with cash and online donations exceeding $1,757.

They began serving lemonade across from Old Fort Erie at 10 a.m. Saturday, and told Fort Erie Radio around 1 p.m. that close to 100 people had already stopped by to quench their thirst in exchange for making a cash donation.

The six girls, ranging from 11 to 12 years old, were glad to be able to help people in need.

Shiila, who is adopted, said she’s gratified to be able to help kids whose families can’t afford the cost of summer camp.

“They get to have fun, make friends, and try new things like they never did before,” she said.

Brookelyn was happy to have the operation at her house again this year, but also to help others.

“It means a lot knowing someone that’s underprivileged gets to do something that they couldn’t before,” she said.

Her friend Willow said it’s nice to “help people have new opportunities.”

Registered LemonAID Day teams are provided with everything needed to run the stand, including lemonade concentrate, pitchers, cups, directional signs, instructions, t-shirts and hats, and a stand to be assembled on a four to six foot table.

The event has grown into a major fundraiser for FACS, starting when Jayden and Kaityln Polgrabia, two siblings from Niagara-on-the-Lake, hosted lemonade stands at their own home before it expanded to what it has become today.

Donations can still be made to the Lemon Squeezies campaign on canadahelps.org until June 30.

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At the request of parents, some last names have been excluded from this story.

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