Bloomingdale girl's lemonade stands raise money for cancer research
When 10-year-old Gabrielle Burgess set up a lemonade stand recently to help raise money for breast cancer research, she was pleasantly surprised by the generosity of spirit she discovered.
“This girl gave me a $20 bill for one cup,” said the Bloomingdale fifth-grader, who attends Heritage Lakes Elementary School, a magnet school in Carol Stream. “A lot of people overpaid for it because they knew it was for breast cancer.”
Gabrielle, who said sales of the 50-cents-per-cup thirst quencher brought in $60 that day, already is planning her next fundraiser.
With the help of her mother, Denise, she's readying for a lemonade stand sale to raise funds for Us TOO International, a Des Plaines-based nonprofit organization that provides support, education and advocacy for people whose lives have been affected by prostate cancer.
“She loves involvement. She really does. It excites her to plan something and to do something,” Denise said. “She's very old for her age. She's in the advanced classes.”
Gabrielle said she became involved with Us TOO through her mother and her aunt, when she joined the organization's annual walk/run as a child in a stroller.
“I have been doing this since I was a little baby,” she said.
Gabrielle and her family plan to participate in the 11th annual S.E.A. Blue Chicago Prostate Cancer Walk and Run, stepping off at 10:15 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 13, in Chicago's Lincoln Park.
“It is one of our biggest activities. It's an awareness-building event,” said Thomas Kirk, president and CEO of Us TOO International.
Kirk said 1,500 to 2,000 walkers and runners typically turn out. Funds raised are used to help the organization provide support services to patients and their families. Kirk said the organization is affiliated with more than 300 volunteer-led support groups.
Funds also help with education efforts, he said.
“We want people to understand how prostate cancer affects people,” he said.
Us TOO informs about new treatments, advocacy issues and awareness campaigns through its website, ustoo.org and through online communities.
“We're very much a self-help group made up of millions of people,” Kirk said. “Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers.”
Kirk said prostate cancer is the second most prevalent cancer killer in men, after lung cancer. The organization's website states that more than 230,000 men are diagnosed with the disease every year.
He said the organization appreciates support from people like the Burgesses.
“It's good to see Gabrielle and her family get involved,” he said.
Gabrielle said she plans to use Kool-Aid blue raspberry lemonade for the Us TOO lemonade stand to reflect the organization's logo, which features the color blue and the acronym SEA for Support, Education and Advocacy.
“It tastes exactly like lemonade,” she said.
She said her friend Ella Princis, whom she met in preschool, has volunteered to help get the lemonade sales moving. They are thinking about setting up shop near a Bloomingdale Bears football game.
“I like volunteering a lot,” Gabrielle said. “It feels good to help out people.”
For information about Us TOO International, visit ustoo.org or call (630) 795-1002.
If you go
What: S.E.A. Blue Chicago Prostate Cancer Walk and Run
When: 10:15 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 13; on-site registration begins at 8 a.m.
Where: Lincoln Park, near the intersection of LaSalle and Stockton drives, Chicago
Cost: $45 for adults, $20 for ages 7 to 17, free for younger children through Sept. 7; $50 for adults, $25 for youth after
Info: ustoo.org