Stafford Girl's LemonAid Stand Raises More than $3,500 for Pediatric Cancer Treatment
Ava Lester exceeded her goal of $500.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Eleven-year-old Ava Lester raised just over $3,500 for pediatric cancer treatment at her LemonAid stand on Sunday afternoon—exceeding her goal by $3,000.
“Wow, wow, wow!” Ava’s mom, Rachel Lester, responded, when asked for an update on yesterday’s event.
Ava, who is undergoing treatment for leukemia at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, was chosen by Anthem LemonAid to be the fundraiser’s ambassador this year—it’s 25th year in existence.
As part of the event, individuals and businesses across the Richmond area—and now up through Fredericksburg, thanks to Ava—set up lemonade stands to raise money for hematology and oncology services at CHoR.
LemonAid has raised $2 million since it started in the early 2000s. Events last summer alone raised a total of $239,000.
Ava’s personal goal was to raise $500 this year, a goal that she promptly surpassed.
“We had an overwhelming amount of family, friends and neighbors come by today and it was amazing!” Rachel Lester told the Advance on Sunday. “At the last minute a neighbor showed up and brought the total up to $3,500.”
Read the Advance’s story from July 18 about Ava and the LemonAid fundraiser.
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