Chappaqua Sisters’ Lemonade Stand to Raise Money for Cancer Research
If you’re at the Chappaqua Farmers Market this Saturday and need a cold drink, look for the Blum Sisters’ Lemonade Stand.
Even if you aren’t thirsty while visiting the market, take a stroll over anyway, say hello and think about contributing a few dollars.
For the fourth straight year, nine-year-old Jenna Blum, and her older sister Rebecca, 12, have selected a Saturday at the market to set up their pop-up operation to raise money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a charity that has brought in more than $140 million for childhood cancer research since Alexandra Scott started the charity in 2000.
Scott, who was four years old at the time, raised $1 million before she passed away from cancer in 2004.
“I think it’s very important to help kids that need it because if it’s meaningful for us, even if we don’t think about it, it’s something we take for granted, (and) we should help others as much as possible,” said Rebecca Blum, a student at Seven Bridges Middle School in Chappaqua.
Their mom, Holly Blum, said both daughters learned about charity from a young age. They have been involved with the Great Chappaqua Bake Sale, which raises money for No Kid Hungry, in the early fall.
Since starting with Alex’s Lemonade Stand, each year the girls sign up for a new fundraising website to not only advertise their day at the market but to accept donations online and raise awareness for the charity. So far this year, they’ve raised about $700. Since they started, the Blum sisters have contributed more than $4,000 to the charity.
“I was thinking we help the world a lot, and that we could do even more to help the world, and that’s to do a lemonade stand for childhood cancer,” said Jenna Blum, a student at Chappaqua’s Westorchard Elementary School.
Two local supermarkets, DeCicco’s and Stop & Shop, donated ingredients. The night before their day at the market, the sisters hand-squeeze the lemons, then wake up around daybreak to mix what will be between 15 and 20 gallons of lemonade.
Their mom said they don’t charge a specific amount for the eight to 10 ounces of lemonade that they serve each patron.
“We found that to be helpful because people can give whatever they want,” Holly Blum said. “Some people will give you $2, some people will give you $200.”
This year’s lemonade stand will have special meaning for the family. Last October, the girls’ maternal grandfather, Neal White, passed away from cancer. They will create a sign that includes their grandfather’s picture as a way to honor him. He was a frequent volunteer for various charities.
“He was a very charitable guy,” Holly Blum said. “A lot of the charity work that he did was for children. He volunteered for Make-A-Wish for many years and he would go to the children’s hospital to do magic tricks for them. So it’s fitting that this lemonade stand, which he was always so proud of the girls for helping, especially with cancer, that we were able to do this.”
The Chappaqua Farmers Market at the Metro-North station is open from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information on the Blum Sisters’ Lemonade Stand or to donate, visit https://www.alexslemonade.org/mypage/1317095.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/