Milford siblings raise $1,325 for Alex’s Lemonade Stand
MILFORD — Brooklyn and AJ Farrell showed off their charitable side last weekend — and it was all sparked after stopping off for some lemonade while at the dog park.
The pair, both students at Mathewson Elementary School, opened their own lemonade stand Monday with plans to donate the proceeds to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer, which first emerged from the front yard lemonade stand of 4-year-old Alexandra “Alex” Scott, who was fighting cancer and wanted to raise money to find cures for all children with cancer.
“We saw the lemonade, and they thought it was a cool idea, I said it would be even cooler if we didn’t collect the money for ourselves, but instead give it to kids who need it more than us,” Lisa Farrell, Brooklyn and AJ’s mom and a teacher at Foran High School.
“We had talked about September being Childhood Cancer Awareness Month because I have had students who have had cancer and passed away,” Farrell added, “and we know kids that have had cancer.”
Overall, Brooklyn, a third grader, and AJ, a fourth grader, raised $1,325 for the foundation, which is one of the leading funders of pediatric cancer research in the U.S. and Canada, raising more than $200 million to date and funding more than 1,000 research projects and providing programs to families affected by childhood cancer.
“Alex’s Lemonade Stand is something that’s been around for some time,” Farrell added, “so we are happy to be able to give them something and use the money to help others.”
After broaching the idea to their mother, the brother and sister duo got to work making posters and placing them all around their neighborhood to get ready for the lemonade stand. They both said they were excited to start the lemonade stand but admitted not knowing if it would be a success.
“I was nervous because I didn’t know if anyone would come,” Brooklyn said.
“I was really excited, because I had never done a lemonade stand before,” AJ added, “and we got a lot of people at it.”
The siblings told their mom they wanted to do a lemonade stand on Saturday, which prompted their mother to gets things rolling so people could donate online towards the fundraiser.
“I didn’t know how much money we were going to make, but I was happy that we made a lot,” Brooklyn said.
“When we were done with the lemonade stand, at 1 p.m., we had a lot of money, and then after that, we saw how much money we got online, and we got a lot of money,” AJ said.
The Farrells were astonished with the local support while they sat back pouring out lemonade.
“Some people gave us $10, $20 and this one person was really generous. She gave us $100 and didn’t want any change,” AJ said.
“I was very surprised,” Farrell said. “I know that people are very generous in giving for good causes, but I was very surprised and overwhelmed by it.”
She recalled one person who came to the lemonade stand who said she had a 2-year-old granddaughter who had died from cancer a few months ago.
“She came, and it was very moving and emotional to see her there,” Farrell said, “and I know that people who have kids and grandkids who have cancer struggle, and it’s nice to show them support.”
Both Brooklyn and AJ said they were proud of their efforts and raising as much money as they did during the lemonade stand.
“I would do it again because it was really fun, and I like to help people,” Brooklyn said.
“I would do it again also,” AJ added, “and a lot of our friends came, and a lot of people came, and they would like to do something like that as well.”