A special award was given to The Citrus Twists stand, which raised $3,829. This was the second year in a row that stand raised the most money. Photo Credit: FACS Niagara.
The fundraising totals are in, and the Family and Children’s Services (FACS) Niagara Foundation raised over $90,000 through its Mountainview Lemonaid Day to help send kids to camp this summer.
The $90,000 in funding will help pay for about 500 weeks of summer camp for local children who are served by the agency.
The fundraising event took place on Saturday, June 8 across Niagara region. There were 100 lemonade stands across Niagara region, hosted by local families, as well as municipalities and businesses.
“We are so grateful to all the families, children, individuals, and sponsors who supported Mountainview LemonAID Day this year and brought energy and enthusiasm to their stands,” said Caroline Polgrabia, President of the FACS Niagara Foundation Board. “It’s always great to see the event’s growth through the new and returning faces of the participants.”
The event’s title sponsor was Mountainview Building Group. Thanks to their contribution, families setting up stands were able to participate at no cost, because Mountainview provided participants with everything needed to host a lemonade stand. Therefore, 100 per cent of the proceeds they raised from selling lemonade went to FACS Niagara to help send kids to camp.
The Tim Hortons location at 170 Fourth Ave. in St. Catharines also helped by providing the lemonade concentrate for all the participating stands.
“Building strong communities should always be at the forefront and part of this is coming together for events like Mountainview LemonAID Day,” said Mark Basciano, President of Mountainview Building Group. “We are so happy to be a part of this initiative and are proud to do our part in making a meaningful impact on the community and lives of children.”
The camp experiences these proceeds helped to fund include weeklong day camps in Niagara, overnight camps outside of the region, specialty camps to support those with special complex needs, supporting camping trips with foster parents, and special camp-at-home baskets.
“Over 600 families receive ongoing services and support from FACS Niagara at any one time,” said Anna Bozza, FACS Niagara Chief Executive Officer. “It is inspiring to see our children eager to get outdoors and experience everything that camp has to offer. Summer camp is all about letting kids be kids as they learn, explore and have fun with friends, and it is so great to see our community rally around this initiative to support that.”
A special award was given to The Citrus Twists stand, which raised $3,829. This was the second year in a row that stand raised the most money.
Jay Goldberg is the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. He previously served as a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
