Lemonade stand by 4-year-old results in $600 of toys for MAAC

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Debbie Fuller of Medina, left, her daughter Marie Phillips and granddaughter Mazie of Albion, brought the first donations of the season to Sherry Tuohey, second from left, at the First Methodist Church of Medina on Saturday for MAAC’s Christmas barrels.

MEDINA – The Medina Area Association of Churches annual Christmas Barrel Program got its first donation of the season, thanks to a little girl who wanted a lemonade stand.

Mazie Phillips, 4, daughter of Dennis and Marie Phillips of Albion and granddaughter of Debbie Fuller and Pudgie Bale of Medina, saw a lemonade stand on YouTube and begged her mother all summer to let her have one.

Finally, the family agreed, and Fuller came up with the idea to make it a fundraiser. On Sept. 25 from 1 to 3 p.m., Bale let Mazie set up her lemonade stand at his vegetable stand on North Gravel Road.

Mazie’s mom made lemonade from real lemons and bought cider. Bale donated pumpkins. The family promoted the stand on Facebook, and people started making donations. When the afternoon ended, Mazie had made $600.

“When we started setting up in the morning, people were already stopping,” Fuller said.

Marie said Mazie helped with the whole event. Her mom cut up apples which Mazie dropped in the cider. She also put the sugar in the lemonade and stirred it.

“She took all the customers’ money and helped people pick out pumpkins,” Marie said.

They decided to use the proceeds to benefit the MAAC Christmas program. After the sale was over, Fuller took Mazie shopping and she picked out a lot of the gifts and the books, Fuller said. They bought sports equipment and ear buds for boys and makeup kits for girls, in addition to dolls and games.

Sherry Tuohey, who heads the MAAC Christmas Barrel Program, was delighted with their selection of gifts.

“Teens are the hardest to buy for and we are always short of gifts for that age,” she said. “We also have a need for books for ages 3 to 18.”

Fuller said she hopes other kids will follow Mazie’s lead and do the same.

“It’s important kids learn to give back to other people,” she said. “We have an abundance of opportunities given to us, so it is important to share with others.”

Mazie Phillips, 4, helps her mom Marie and grandma Debbie Fuller fill a MAAC Christmas barrel with $600 worth of toys her grandma bought with money Mazie earned from a lemonade stand.

“I’m so thankful they came up with this idea,” Tuohey said.

Mazie is in Pre-K in Albion and at the Tree House, her mother said.

MAAC’s Christmas program will start on Nov. 2 when Medina firefighters deliver 40 barrels to locations within the Medina and Knowlesville zip codes. The public is urged to help fill the barrels with toys, gifts, crafts, games, books, hat, gloves, socks and non-perishable food items.

To qualify to receive a Christmas box the applicant must be from the Medina School District, zip codes 14103 and 14479 (Knowlesville). Eligible individuals are children up to 18 years of age and their parents/guardians and senior citizens 62 and older. Sign-up must be completed during the second and third weeks of November.

Applications will be taken at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 1355 West Ave., from 10 a.m. to noon and 5 to 7 p.m. Nov. 8 and 15; and at Calvary Tabernacle Assembly of God, 11031 Maple Ridge Rd., Medina, from 10 a.m. to noon Nov. 10 and 17.

Applicants will need to show proof of household (birth certificates or Social Security cards; proof of residence (utility bill); and one proof of income. (Department of Social Services award letter, SSED/SSI/SSP award letter, pay stubs, most recent tax return or SNAP letter.

For more information, contact Tuohey at (585) 356-8346 or (585) 798-6657 and leave a message.