With donations of $79,630 to date, a 10-year-old Toronto girl — known for her little lemonade stand — closes in on her bid to raise $100,000 for heart and stroke research.
Amanda Belzowski, a fundraising phenom who has been running the stand with the help of her family since she was in diapers, raised $11,030 yesterday.
Some 400 people visited her stand on Brian Cliff Drive, in the Leslie Street and Lawrence Avenue East area, including Toronto Argonauts CEO Michael “Pinball” Clemons, who was on hand to sign autographs and help out.
Since opening in 1999, Amanda’s Lemonade Stand has grown bigger and bigger. This year more options were included in the menu ranging from cookies, cake, corn on the cob, coffee and pizza.
The stand is a way for Amanda to fulfil a lifelong pledge to help raise funds for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario.
“When I was little I basically chose this foundation because everyone knows someone who is affected by this,” said Amanda while eating ice cream during a break from manning her stand. “It’s for my great-grandfather and I’m doing it for him.”
