'Our biggest year yet': Lemonade Stand Day ready to make a splash Aug. 25

The creator of Lemonade Stand Day, Monita Chapman, joined CTV Morning Live’s Nicole Lampa to talk about what's coming up for the fundraiser's 11th year.

Nicole Lampa: Hundreds of young entrepreneurs will be earning money for the Stollery Children's Hospital next Sunday. Lemonade Stand Day has become an end of summer staple. Are you expecting an increase of children registering for this year's fundraiser?

Monita Chapman: We're already geared up for our biggest year yet. We already have just over 600 stands registered, but we do have a few more spots for some extra kids.

Nicole: How many years has this been in the running and how much have you raised so far?

Monita: This is our 11th year that we're going into. We've raised $2.1 million.. This all started 11 years ago with a stand that raised $76, so we're super excited and proud.

Nicole: What does the money go towards?

Monita: Every year the money goes to the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation, and we do choose a different program to fund every year. This year, we're funding the Pediatric Diabetes Centre in the hospital and we're super excited about that. It's a three-year program that we're funding, and we're happy to be able to help that program and keep them going and growing.

Nicole: What's it been like since the pandemic? Have you seen a surge since then, in terms of people just wanting to have their kids take part and have stands?

Monita: Even during the pandemic, we ran lemonade Sunday. We just found ways to do it. Our junior entrepreneurs were really good at figuring out ways to do it. So yes, we've grown every year. Last year we had just over 500 stands. This year, just over 600. We grow a little bit every year, so we're really proud of that.

Nicole: What are the kids saying about these stands?

Monita: The kids love it. We have kids that come back every year. This is a tradition for many of them. We get to see them when they come to pick up their kits and run their stands. They do this every year, and they love doing it, but we also love to see new faces come and be part of it.

Nicole: Have you seen people do extra things at their stands to get the community and their neighbours out?

Monita: Oh yeah, this is a community event, Tthey have the whole community go all out. And you're right, some of them are just lemonade stands, which is great. They do really well as well, and they have just as much fun. But some of them go all out and throw parties.

Nicole: What if there's a family at home saying, "I want to have a stand when this event happens?"

Monita: The event is next Sunday, August 25. You can still register until this weekend at lemonadeyeg.ca. You're going to sign up, and come see us on Monday and pick up the kit of tools that we're going to give those kids to run their stand. Then they get to be part of the fun next weekend.