Making a stand

September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and local organization Hope for Autumn Foundation is teaming up with the Laura Crandall Brown Foundation for the “Make a Stand” campaign to creatively support the cause. 

During July and August, individuals and groups signed up to receive a kit to host lemonade stands as fundraisers. Each kit contained two gallons of Milo’s lemonade, cups and a paper banner. Prizes will be given to the three stands with the highest fundraising totals, as well as the stand with the best banner design. Milo’s Tea, The Whole Scoop and Red Mountain Park have supported the project.

“This idea came from a young girl in Vestavia who hosts an annual lemonade stand in her neighborhood to raise money for our organization,” said Mary Anne King, Laura Crandall Brown Foundation executive director. “We thought it was a wonderful idea, a fun activity for the whole family and something that enables children to make a difference in a tangible way.” 

That young Vestavia Hills girl was Caroline, daughter of Gina Hawkins.

“It is fun to have a lemonade stand. It is important because it helps people feel better,” said Caroline.

Gina wanted her daughter to recognize at a young age the importance of giving back.

 “As a family, we started having lemonade stands when Caroline was 4,” Gina said. “We did it to instill in her the importance of helping others.”

Gina became involved in the Laura Crandall Brown Foundation because she believed in the cause and she used to babysit Laura, the organization’s namesake. For the past three years, Caroline has helped with registration for the Head Over Teal 5K, held every year at the Hoover Preserve.

“It has become a fun tradition for a great cause. We believe in this cause,” Gina said. “A good friend of ours recently lost her mother to this illness, so it is important to us to be part of this. We are very proud of Caroline and her friends Kathleen Gardner and Catey Rose Callahan, all fifth-graders at Vestavia Hills Elementary Central, for raising more than $800 at two lemonade stands.”

For more about The Hope for Autumn Foundation, visit hopeforautumnfoundation.org. For more about the Laura Crandall Brown Foundation, visit thinkoflaura.org.