When life hands you lemons, make lemonade for a valued charity, which is exactly what a Salmon Arm family and students did for JoeAnna's House in Kelowna.
The fourth annual Good Lemonade Day fundraiser brought in $30,500 during the June 14 province-wide event, with nearly 60 lemonade stands set up across 14 communities, including two in Salmon Arm. JoeAnna's House, opened in 2019, provides accommodations for out-of-town families who have loved ones receiving care at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH), a service the Vannieuwenhuizen's needed in 2021.
Mom of five Kayla Vannieuwenhuizen said the family stayed there for several weeks when her daughter Hattie was born premature at 33 weeks, and happily supports the initiative to this day.
“Our family was so happy to participate in Good Lemonade Day again this year. Being our third year, we wanted to make sure we once again surpassed our goals in raising as much as we could for Joanna’s House. We worked hard with local businesses who donated their time and products to ensure we could raise the most yet - $2,200," she said in a media release.
"We remember first-hand the feeling of having a soft place to land when Hattie was in the NICU and hope the future expansion of JoeAnna’s house can leave more families feeling the same way."
In addition to the family stand, a group of students from Shuswap Middle School also participated in the fundraiser. Hattie's older brother Bennett is in Milana Cecco's class, which decided to sell lemonade at lunch that day to add $480 to the Vannieuwenhuizen's total, for which they're grateful.
"Participating in this event allows us to give back to a place that played such a big role in our journey to where we are today," Vannieuwenhuizen added in a media release from School District 83. "I love being able to share this experience with Hattie – it's a wonderful way for her to learn about kindness, community and the power of helping others.
"Our hope is that she continues this lemonade stand for decades and having started so young, that it teaches her, and our other children that they can make a real difference, no matter how young they are."
JoeAnna's House has 20 guest rooms, a family kitchen and common area, laundry and workout facility, and is just steps away from KGH. Plans are currently underway to add another 10 rooms as the need is increasing, with 2,929 families having stayed since it opened and more than 1,160 families on the wait list.
More information on the event can be found at goodlemonadeday.ca.
