I suppose I can attribute this desire from Peanut & Angel for a permanent lemonade stand at my house in large part to the popular kid’s shows, “Peppa Pig” and “Olivia”. These pig cartoons clearly have a huge influence at the homestead. Lucky for us the week my kids started asking to make homemade lemonade just about every hour on the hour I got an email from a lovely lady sharing her support for an amazing couple, the Scheinmans. Their daughter, Olivia Hope, was born with a brain malformation that resulted in epilepsy and disabilities. They have been so inspired by their daughter’s great strength, incredible smile and “gentle demeanor” they wanted to do something to help other kids with their medical struggles. It is because of their amazing daughter they created the their non-profit organization, Livy’s Hope. The reason I wanted to blog about the Scheinmans was because of their unwavering hope and tenacity to continue to help others even while dealing with their own daughters’ struggles. They are remarkable people that I wanted to share with our ISP followers. As they state on their website, www.livyshope.com: “One of the many lessons we have learned while caring for Livy is the importance of giving back. We have met numerous wonderful people along our journey and have been helped by so many. It is in that spirit that all profits from sales on LivysHope.com are used for our mission of supporting children with medical needs and their families”. Incredible AND inspiring. This is why when their friend reached out to tell me about their national lemonade fundraiser, “Lemonade for Livy” I wanted to make sure I spread the word best I could. This national philanthropic event sells lemonade for Livy’s Hope for a Cure which helps raise funds for epilepsy research.

So for this week’s Kindness Challenge I wanted to ask you all to host a lemonade stand to help support Miss Livy and her incredible cause.

Here are some tips Livy’s Hope’s website listed to get a good kick start and the best results for your lemonade stand: (from www.LivysHope.com)

• Set up a lemonade stand in your neighborhood, in front of a business, at a sporting event, at a parade or at a yard sale.
• Try to get your local Girl and Boy Scouts and other groups involved.
• Have a lemonade event at work.
• Build a creative stand to attract attention.
• Hold a lemonade party at your house. Invite all of your friends and ask them to make a donation (this is good for both kids and adults).

Or one that I thought would work well where I always see masses of kids and adults each weekend – set up a stand at a park hosting a day full of soccer games, baseball tournaments, or swim meets. To add a little something for everyone maybe even add some frozen versions of your lemonade as slushies or popsicles.   Here’s the twinsies prepping for their lemonade stand. Obviously, they take their job quite seriously.       All Ages are welcome and it’s a fun way to give back, so why not? We are in an unprecedented drought anyway so I know there are lots of thirsty Californians out there!

The official 2014 Lemonade for Livy Weekend is July 25th – 27^th. If you can’t have a stand over the weekend, you are more than welcome to hold a stand at any point throughout the year. For more information on this wonderful family, their cause and fundraiser, please visit http://www.livyshope.com/

 

Have a wonderful, inspiring & fulfilling week all!