Oak Lawn ‘Lemon-Aid’ Stand for Alex Raises Over $1,800

Alex's Lemon-Aid Stand raised over $1800 for Alex Czuczuk and his family Friday afternoon. While Alex could not be there himself as he was in chemotherapy on Friday, his aunt Julie Ternes expressed her gratitude to the community.

“When the word gets out to our community and the people who know or don’t know the family, you see how generous and concerned people can really be,” Ternes said in an email following the event.

Those who missed the lemonade stand are still able to donate to Alex, a Shorewood teen with osteosarcoma, on his YouCaring page, or by dropping off donations at the Ternes’ home at 10709 S. Tripp Ave. in Oak Lawn.

To learn more about Alex, read this post from Shorewood Patch.

Sarah Heidorn, one of the many children involved in the event, says the part she liked most about the stand was that so many people donated without buying anything because they knew it was for a good cause. She and her fellow lemonade sellers were concerned about the turnout because of the rainy weather, but things quickly turned out better than expected.

“All of a sudden it starts changing into this big party so people can talk to each other and say, ‘Oh look, you’re here! I haven’t seen you in a while. Can we talk?’” she said.

The stand began as an idea from the children’s book club while reading The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies, but it became much more when the children decided to raise money for Alex. Joey Ternes, Alex’s cousin, says it means a lot to him that the community was willing to help Alex.

To learn more about how the lemonade stand got started, read our preview.