Deaf Program Lemonade Stand Has Sweet Success for a Great Cause!

For the fourth year in a row, students in Lisa Austin’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing class at North Syracuse Junior High School, a part of OCM BOCES Special Education Summer School, created a lemonade stand to raise money for a great cause. During the summer program four years ago,  Ms. Austin was teaching her students about money and the importance of giving back and thought a lemonade stand would be a great way to teach students about both concepts.  After researching and finding several books on the topic, Austin came across the book Alex and the Amazing Lemonade Stand.

The book about giving back and helping others, tells about Alex Scott, a little girl with cancer who set up a lemonade stand to help doctors find a cure for the disease. Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, now a national organization, has raised more than $30 million dollars in the fight against childhood cancer...part of that money coming from right here in Central New York.

Over the past four years, Austin’s OCM BOCES students have raised hundreds of dollars through their efforts, thanks to the generous support of the stand’s patrons. Austin is proud of the hard work her students did to promote and staff the stand, including making flyers and announcements and working various jobs and shifts at the stand. This year, the students and their lemonade stand were also featured on "Bridge Street," a local television show. Click here to view the video from the program.