A new community-led initiative by Marblehead’s Dave Aldrich will provide ongoing financial and emotional support to families who lost loved ones in the devastating floods in Texas this summer.
A severe flash flood at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp in Texas, resulted in a tragic loss of life on July 4th. The flood, caused by intense rainfall in the Texas Hill Country, overwhelmed the camp, which is located along the Guadalupe River. At least 27 campers and counselors, including the camp owner, died.
“Just imagine thinking you’re sending your daughter off for the magical experience of overnight summer camp and your daughter never comes home again,” said Aldrich. “After running a girls summer institute since 2009, this tragedy really touched my heart.”
Aldrich, continuing his mission to help others, is launching a community project throughout Marblehead, Swampscott and Nahant titled “Lemonade Day.”
Lemonade day will feature 50-75 lemonade stands on Aug. 23, with a rain date of the 24th.
The lemonade stands will be fully operated by kids. They will be responsible for getting a table and creating a sign. Aldrich said his organization, Grab the Bagel, will provide cups, a recipe and all the lemonade ingredients they will need.
He said the mission is “kids helping kids” as 100% of the sales will benefit the families of the girls lost in the flood at Mystic Camp in Texas.
The proceeds will go to the Heaven 27 Fund. It is managed by the San Antonio Community Foundation and honors the 27 girls who died in the disaster. Twenty-six families are beneficiaries of the fund — one family lost twins.
Under the program, the foundation holds and manages the funds, distributing them every six months into donor-advised accounts for each family. Families can then decide how to use the money in ways that honor their children’s memories.
“It’s an incredible program,” Aldrich said. “This is about the girls, and the message is loud and clear.”
The fund was created after community members met with the families, who wanted to ensure that any assistance remained focused on remembering their children rather than promoting outside agendas.
Aldrich said Lemonade Day is also in honor of Hasbro’s Alan G. Hassenfeld, his friend of over 20 years. Aldrich said Hassenfeld devoted his life to child safety, traveling internationally to promote safe manufacturing practices for toys and children’s products. “He always put kids first,” he said.
He added, “We’re on to something big, and we’re on to something good.
“The community’s response has been incredible,” he said.
Fourteen lemonade stands have been sponsored. To sponsor a lemonade stand email grabthebagel@gmail.com. It costs $25 to become a sponsor.