Charlie and Gray have done this lemonade stand for 6 years now. It started the year before Charlie entered kindergarten.  He originally wanted to do the stand but wanted the money to go towards something, so we started tossing ideas around.  At the same time Charlie's cousin, Molly, began surgeries for many issues she was having with her Omphalacele. He decided he wanted to raise money for the children’s hospital. As James and Connie Maynard Children’s was our local hospital, I reached out to ask for guidance on how to donate. The first year, we donated the money and the 2nd year we donated more money! The 3rd year we donated 3 gaming systems with money left over for games. The 4th year we raised enough money for 3 oculus VR goggles, and last year we were able to raise enough money to donate new toys for the playroom as well as a sensory tube.

We have always held our lemonade stand to raise money for Maynard Children’s Hospital in honor of our sweet Molly…every donation has been because of her!  Our hope has always been that when we donate, we are providing care for another child like, Molly. Charlie and Molly always shared a special bond, and last year Molly was able to attend the lemonade stand. Her excitement for the stand and her excellent “salesman” skills gave us our best year yet! We were blessed beyond measure to have Molly and her family at the lemonade stand in 2019. We could never have imagined she would not be able to join us this year. This past summer Molly passed away due to complications from her surgery to compress the organs from her Omphalacele back into her body. Her fight and spunky personality made us want to focus our efforts towards raising funds this year for grieving families. The child life team who provided care to Molly and her family while in the hospital for over a month was top notch and therefore this year the funds we raise will be designated to child life services here at Maynard Children’s Hospital for the families who have lost their precious children. Our hope is that we will have our BIGGEST year yet.  Molly touched the lives of so many people and we believe the funds we raise will go on doing just that through the family and friends who carry on in her memory.