Amanda Belzowski

Eleven year old Amanda Belzowski has been holding her annual event, Amanda’s Lemonade Stand  in support of the Heart and Stroke Foundation,  since 1999.  To date, she has raised  over $102,087.18  with the support of brother Joshua (2 years old) and her parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. On May 4, Amanda held her special 10^th Anniversary Lemonade Stand and her fundraiser raised over $50,000 this year alone.   A few years ago when Amanda learned that Strokes and Heart Disease affect  children as well,   she decided that Amanda’s  Lemonade Stand money should go towards funding and raising awareness for Paediatric Heart and Stroke Research and she has helped special research projects such as Dr. B. McCrindle’s, at The Hospital for Sick Children, which deals specifically with children with congenital heart defects.    Amanda  wants to teach everyone that Heart and Stroke issues affect all of us, even kids, and she is determined to “Help People whose Hearts are Broken”.  She does this ‘one glass of lemonade at a time’.  This year,  2008, Amanda is also the top online fundraiser for The Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Ride for Heart initiative.

This year’s achievement holds a special place in Amanda’s heart as it is dedicated in honour and  memory of her late great-grandfather, David Dale, who died in December before her Anniversary event.  Mr. Dale, who had an artificial heart valve and his wife Mary, were  Amanda’s strong supporters, right from the start of her charitable endeavours.

Amanda has been very fortunate in that   absolutely everything at Amanda’s Lemonade Stand is  generously donated by her wonderful supporters. Her 3 hour event which is held entirely on the front lawn of  her grandparents’ house features much more than just lemonade  and cookies which are provided by Dominion Store at Bayview & Eglinton.  The custom super-sized cake comes from Dominion Store at York Mills & Bayview.    She serves fresh Pizza from Richtree Market Restaurants, Corn-on-the-Cob from cornonthecob.ca,  Popcorn from Avenue Rentals, and Dippin Dots ice cream from Party Props.  Gallons of water for her lemonade along with the water coolers for serving it came from  Aquareal Water. Her incredible event also included  amazing attractions such as a concert by Dan the Music Man,  Pony Rides from Lionel’s Pony Farm,  and buttons and crafts by Elizabeth Wright at Conceptual Design and Print Management.  This company was also instrumental in redoing her website and updating it on a regular basis. 

 This year for her Anniversary,  Football Hall of Famer  and huge fan of Amanda’s,  Mike “Pinball” Clemons came out and spent the day helping Amanda do her magic. .   In addition to the food and entertainment,  Amanda has a silent and live auction at her lemonade stand with a wide range of amazing  prizes that were auctioned professionally by Dan Clark of The Auction Guy.   “Pinball” and the Toronto Argonauts donated an entire box at the Season Opening Game with passes to the player’s locker room.  Donald Trump sent Amanda a signed limited-edition copy of Donald Trump’s book, and David Copperfield gave Amanda 2 tickets to his show in Las Vegas with a backstage meeting and tour of his famous Warehouse of Magic.  She also received auction items from the Toronto Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Blue Jays.  Toys from Mega Brands and Spin Master were a huge hit as well.  Other donators are just too numerous to list but Amanda greatly appreciates and thanks all the many contributors.

Amanda works very hard throughtout the year for her 3 hour fundraiser and has a website www.lemonade4heart.org to tell people more about who she is and what she has done over the years.  You can also just find it by googling the words ‘Amanda’  ‘Lemonade’.    

Amanda has appeared many’ many  times in all forms of media over the years and always uses this great exposure  to increase awareness about the prevalence and importance of heart disease and stroke research.  She always encourages others to contribute to this  cause and all worthy causes.  Many years ago when asked what she hopes people learn from her hard work and efforts, she responded by suggesting that every child out there should have a Lemonade Stand for some worthwhile cause. If we all did that, we could fix the world.   Recently, a gentleman approached Amanda at the Ride for Heart event in Toronto and introduced himself  and said, “thank you” to her because he just had heart surgery and he felt that if it wasn’t for her efforts and her hard work, he might not be here.   This touched Amanda very deeply.   This past June, Amanda actually rode alongside a recent stroke survivor  and together they went onstage to present her cheque to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.    Amanda knows that these are some of the special memories that  she will cherish as she continues to grow into a loving, giving and caring adult .

 Eleven  year old Amanda not only fundraises for the Heart and Stroke Foundation but also volunteers for other organizations, such as the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society. Amanda truly believes that  “You are Never Too Little or Too Young to Make a Big Difference in this World!!!”