Kendall sixth-grader selling lemonade on Wednesday for ‘REV’ cuddle buddies at Strong NICU
Press Release
Provided photo: Rylie Fox holds a Rev cuddle buddy. She will be selling lemonade on Wednesday so more Revs will be available at the Strong NICU.
KENDALL – A Kendall student is turning a school leadership opportunity into a chance to give back to some of the region’s youngest patients.
Rylie Fox, an incoming sixth-grade student at Kendall Central School, was selected to participate in the school’s Safety Squad, a program conducted in partnership between the Kendall Central School District and the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office. The program gives students an opportunity to demonstrate leadership while promoting safety, responsibility and service within their school and community.
Students entering sixth grade must apply and interview for a position on the Safety Squad. Those selected receive an acceptance letter during the summer, along with instructions to complete a community service project.
For her project, Rylie has decided to hold a lemonade stand on Kendall Road on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. giving the opportunity for people coming home from work to enjoy an ice cold lemonade. The stand will be located on Kendall Road between Ridge Road and Creek Road.
Rylie will donate 100% of the proceeds to Healthy Highway, a nonprofit organization, to help provide “REV” cuddle buddies to children in the NICU at Strong Memorial Hospital.
Each REV costs approximately $25 to produce, and Healthy Highway relies on donations and community support to make the cuddle buddies available to children in need. Rylie is hoping her lemonade stand raises enough money to provide as many REVs as possible to children and families in the NICU.
The cause has a special connection to Rylie and her family. Her father James Fox, a chief with the Kendall Fire Department, began a partnership with Healthy Highway in June to bring REV to the Kendall Fire Department. After learning more about the program, Rylie knew where she wanted the proceeds from her community service project to go.
Rylie’s cousin spent an extended period of time in the NICU at Strong Memorial Hospital after he was born, and the care he received there helped save his life. Remembering what the NICU meant to her own family inspired Rylie to help other children who are going through similar experiences.
Her hope is that children who have spent their first days, weeks or months fighting in the NICU can eventually go home with a REV cuddle buddy of their own.
What began as a Safety Squad community service assignment has become an opportunity for Rylie to demonstrate exactly what the program is designed to encourage—leadership, compassion, safety and service to others.
Community members who would like to support Rylie’s project can stop by her lemonade stand Wednesday, September 2, from 4:30–6:30 p.m. on Kendall Road between Ridge Road and Creek Road. Every dollar raised will go toward helping put more REV cuddle buddies into the hands of children in the Strong Memorial Hospital NICU.
