Giving Back for JDRF - A Lemonade Stand for One Walk

I wrote in the past about teaching my three children the value of #givingback. It is in this vein that I write about a proud dad moment that happened with my oldest daughter not too long ago. 

To set the stage, my oldest daughter has a close friend that was diagnosed with #JuvenileDiabetes several years ago. Our daughters are now great friends and the family invited us to participate in the #JuvenileDiabetesResearchFoundation (JDRF) One Walk. Our daughter was at first excited to be able to walk with her friend, which was quickly followed by disappointment when we told her that we would be out of town that weekend.

A few days later and after a lot of conversations about how going to her brother's soccer tournament was not negotiable, my wife mentioned doing something before the walk to help her raise money for JDRF.

The wheels started turning. We had done lemonade stands in the past, but the kids had always set up at my in-law's house and sold a few cups of lemonade which only made them enough to buy a few items from the $1-3 section at Target. This needed to be bigger, and raise more money, since this was for a great cause.

So, my daughter and her friends began planning. They baked cookies and made snack bags. They created posters and pointer signs for the stand.

The day of the lemonade stand came, and they had selected a high-traffic location. While they were just setting up the table and putting out their signs, as luck would have it, a coach from the #UniversityofTennessee walked up to my wife and asked what the girls were setting up for. She shared the fundraising efforts behind the lemonade stand and he disappeared for a few minutes. He then came back and handed my wife some money, said "good luck" and was on his way. 

Let’s just say that the fundraising efforts started off with a bang and after several hours and a few trips to the grocery store for more lemonade, we counted the day as a huge success! When the kids got home, counted all the proceeds, and then submitted the donation online, the lemonade stand pushed our daughter's friend’s fundraising efforts over her goal. 

This was a great opportunity to teach my daughter about the different ways of giving. Whether we choose to give with our time, our treasures, or both; supporting those in need is a lesson I am very proud of teaching to my family.