Lemon-Aide Fund: April 2011

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Art Preview 1

These are just a few of the paintings that will be for sale. The first painting is by JD Ettinger, the birch trees is by Rachel Ettinger and the flowers are by Tessa McGee. Check back later this week for more pictures.

What's a Lemon-Aide Fund?!

So a few years ago my friends and I decided to have a garage sale and give the money away to some charity. I think we gave it to a crisis pregnancy center that year. It was fun; none of us has ever gotten to give a $600 gift before. We decided to do it again. This time the money went to an organization that helps people in financial trouble called, Love, Inc.That was fun too, so on we went. One year we gave all the money to a local youth center and another time we donated it the library at North Park Schools.

After awhile though, we thought it would be more fun to give money away more than once a year, and that's when the Lemon-aide Fund was born. Sometime around 2003 (If anyone knows for sure, you should tell me.) We decided to start our own "charity" that would give away money any time we met someone with a need. The money would just sit in a savings account and when a need came up, we'd all decide together if we'd give money and if so how much.

We've given money to people going through divorce and trying to start over. We bought a lady a new van window when hers was vandalized on her own street. We've bought dozens of Meijer gift cards. Once we paid off someone's credit card bills when his account number was stolen and someone was running him up. We've bought clothes for kids and sent kids to camp.

I don't say all this to brag, but more to let you know what the money goes for and to let you in on the celebration. Giving money away really is fun. When you've set the money aside for giving away, then there's no stress and no worries about whether or not you can help someone. You just know that you can.