ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Kids constantly surprise me. I meet quite a few amazing kids each year and in 2019, Caroline Gallagher really left her mark. We first met in June at the presentation of a giant check to a tiny girl. She raised more than $13,000 for pediatric cancer research and donated $11,244.50 to Johns Hopkins All Children’s hospital to help doctors fight the disease.
The idea to give back was born out of tragedy for Caroline. At just 18 months old, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Just six months after that diagnosis, her 2-year-old cousin, Julia, was diagnosed with Stage 4 High-Risk Neuroblastoma.
Julia, unfortunately, lost her battle.
After we aired our story, two viewers in New Port Richey saw the story and got to talking about how they'd like to help. Neighbors John Schwier and Michelle Fetz came up with the idea to build Caroline a proper lemonade stand. The first three years she’d sold lemonade she’d basically set up a card table in the driveway. John knew that wouldn’t do.
He went to Lowe’s and gathered the materials. When a store manager saw his load and asked what he was building, John explained the situation. Lowe’s donated the materials – over $370! – to the cause. After a few days of building, Michelle and John drove over an hour to deliver the surprise. Caroline was so thankful and she served them lemonade.
“I said, ‘John, you have to build her a lemonade stand,’” Fetz said at the time. “My heart is so full and so humbled.”
Caroline Gallagher’s childhood cancer non-profit, C&C Lemonade Factory, will host a Hot Chocolate Pop Up Fundraiser on New Year’s Eve morning. While the hot chocolate and cookies are free, donations are welcome and 100 percent of the funds raised will go toward childhood cancer research.
The event will be held on December 31, 2019 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. More information can be found on the Facebook event page.
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