Wish Upon A Car
When is a reference to cars and lemons a good thing?
The idea of neighborhood kids setting up a lemonade stand on a
hot summer day is as American as apple pie. For many people,
it's their introduction to entrepreneurship. But for the
children who participate in Car-X's Lemonade-for-Wishes program
one weekend each summer, the stands mean much more.
Started at St. Louis Car-X locations in 1997, the annual event
raises money for the local Make-A-Wish Foundation chapter, which
helps grant the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses.
Kids pick up lemonade stand kits at participating Car-X auto repair
centers; each kit includes a lemonade recipe, two posters,
background on the Make-A-Wish Foundation and a thank-you letter
from the organization.
"Lemonade-for-Wishes encourages kids to go out and do
something for other kids," says Allison J. Bauman, a Car-X
advertising manager involved in organizing the fund-raiser.
"When the kids get that concept, when they understand
‘Wow, I'm raising money for someone my age who is
sick,' it's really amazing to watch their
response."
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Lemonade-for-Wishes was brought to Chicago Car-X locations last
summer with promotion from Radio Disney. Participants also received
contest entry forms with their kits. The weekend of the
fund-raiser, 10 winners were chosen to receive a visit from Radio
Disney's Party Patrol van.
Make-A-Wish was also a winner. Accepting donations for the
lemonade they made, Lemonade-for-Wishes participants in Chicago
raised over $3,000 for Make-A-Wish.
Car-X hopes to see Lemonade-for-Wishes expand to their locations
nationwide. Says Bauman, "There's no reason we can't
explore that."
Contact Sources
- Car-X, 8750 Bryn Mawr West, #410E, Chicago, IL 60631,
(773) 693-1000
- Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northern Illinois, (312)
943-8956, jimenez@wishes.org