‘We want to help with that’
Fundraiser to help make wishes come true for sick children
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WARREN -- Age is not a barrier to helping other people as Jake & Emma's Benefit Lemonade Stand proved on Saturday.
"Jake was 7 when he was visiting his mother in Iowa and he saw a commercial for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. He came home and wanted to raise money for the children," said Nancy Elser of Warren, who is Jake and Emma's grandmother.
Jake returned to Warren that July and in September, he and his sister, Emma, with the organizational help of their grandmother, hosted their first charity lemonade stand in 2020 at her home with proceeds benefiting the children's hospital.
"A lot of kids have to go through medical things, and their parents may not have the money to help them. We want to help with that," said Emma Elser of Warren, who is now 11.
After four years, Jake and Emma decided to switch the charity.
"When Jake learned about hospice care, he wanted to change his focus to a local charity," Nancy Elser said.
The McGuffey PK-8 School student said that he had a specific reason for wanting to help children in hospice.
"I want them to just feel normal for one day, and it will be a memory that their family will have forever," Jake said.
The siblings now fundraise for Workshop of Wishes (WOW). The nonprofit based in Brecksville serves children and families in northeast Ohio, including Akron Children's Hospital and Hospice of the Western Reserve. Their program, Sprinkle of Joy, offers food deliveries to families in the hospital and VIP visits to such places as children's museums, Build-A-Bear and the LEGO Store.
Vendors such as Lady Liz's Lavender, Live Good Fundraising, Tipsy Craft Studio and a Slime booth had their sales going to the fundraiser.
"I have participated in this fundraiser for at least four years," said Elser family friend Jennifer Svensson of Hubbard, whose Tipsy Craft Studio offered its items for sale. "It is such a good cause."
Her booth offered a variety of items from silk scrunchies to silk screen t-shirts that were made to order. Svensson is an emergency room nurse and knows how much the fundraiser helps children.
The fundraiser also included nearly 100 raffle baskets. Jake Elser sold lemonade, hot dogs and cookies.
As she has become a tween, Emma Elser is much more involved with the setup of the event. She helped her 12 year-old cousin, Baelleigh Petrus of Howland, set up her slime booth. The girls made the slime from a homemade recipe and offered it in assorted colors and aromas.
Though the girls had fun shaping the slime, they realized the significance of the sales of their homemade creation.
"It is to help kids through the WOW foundation," Baelleigh said.
Jake & Emma's Benefit Lemonade Stand has raised more than $14,000 since their first year to help children with life-threatening illnesses. Although the inclement weather on Saturday dampened some of their monetary donations for WOW, plans for next year's fundraiser are already underway.
Donations can still be accepted through a link on their Facebook page, Jake & Emma's Benefit Lemonade Stand.