Schaumburg girl wins lemonade stand, will raise money for autism
Erin Kelly, 10, of Schaumburg, always wanted to have a lemonade stand, and now because of her spunky determination - and articulate essay - she will.
Look for Erin's large cardboard stand at this weekend's Hoffman Estates Arts & Crafts Fair, taking place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, on the police department grounds, at Gannon Drive and Golf Road.
Erin followed up on a program pitched by WLIT morning drive host Melissa Foreman. She directed listeners to her Web site, to learn about the annual "Take a Stand" campaign launched by Sunkist Growers.
Last year, Sunkist officials distributed 15,000 lemonade stands to children across the country. The idea is that by helping them set up an old-fashioned lemonade stand, they could give back to their community by raising money for a charity of their choice.
In order to receive hers, Erin had to write an essay about what she would do if she won a stand, who it is that inspires her and what charitable cause would receive the proceeds.
For Erin, choosing the subject of her essay was easy. She wrote about her youngest brother, 7-year-old Jason, who has autism.
On the one hand, she concedes, the complex developmental disorder makes life difficult for Jason, and for the family. But it is the way he handles it, she says, that inspires her.
"He's always in a good mood," Erin says. "He's always laughing, smiling and just carefree."
Her mother, Jill, concurs, adding that although they never forget for a minute that he has autism, and that they have to watch Jason every minute, his positive attitude helps them through it.
"It's just the simple things that make him happy," Jill Kelly says of the youngest of her three children.
Consequently, Erin wrapped up her essay by saying that she would donate proceeds to the Autism Society of America, which is the largest autism grass-roots organization, dedicated to improving the lives of people on the spectrum.
Sunkist officials found Erin's story so compelling that they shipped the stand to her Schaumburg home last week.
With that, Erin and her family went to work. They solicited donations of gift cards from local grocery and super stores to help purchase supplies, to the tune of $125 as of late last week.
"All of the stores have been incredibly generous," Jill Kelly says.
They have decorated signs to tell patrons about their charity, and have priced cups of lemonade at 50 cents each.
Landing a spot at the Hoffman Estates Arts & Crafts Fair, which village officials say draws more than 1,000 people over its two-day run, was the only remaining detail.
"It's usually hot that day, so people should be nice and thirsty," Erin says. "I thought a lemonade stand would be perfect."