Lemonade Stand brings in $2,600+ for cancer cause

In just three hours, the annual Lemonade Stand fundraiser to help support the Garcia family’s fight against childhood cancer raised more than $2,600 at Indian Beach Sunday.

The family has been putting on the annual event to raise money for organizations that support children with cancer. Daughter Juliana Garcia, 10, has been battling cancer since her third birthday when she was diagnosed with Wilms tumor stage one. Her journey has taught the Garcia family how critical child cancer support groups are and they have been raising funds for the groups ever since Juliana’s surgery.

Juliana underwent a grueling four-hour surgery at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to have the tumor and her kidney removed. Following the surgery, she endured six months of chemotherapy and has since been on a rigorous schedule of ultrasounds and x-rays to monitor her remaining kidney.

Members of the Garcia family pose with Gold Rush Cure board member Fred Haton at the Lemonade Stand at Indian Beach Park Sunday during their annual cancer kids fundraiser. They are, from left, George Garcia, Juliana Garcia, Cara Garcia, Gavin Garcia and Fred. Photo provided by Garcia Family

The Lemonade Stand idea was born as a tool for raising awareness and funds. This year, the recipient of the funds is Gold Rush Cure, which was established in 2009 by Sandy and Gary Barker after the loss of their son Christian to a rare form of Leukemia. Christian underwent two bone marrow transplants and received treatment at various hospitals, including CHOC, CHLA, and Seattle, before tragically passing away.

Gold Rush Cure provides customized gifts for children with cancer, focusing on celebrating their courage and strength rather than their illness. They create “Pots of Gold” for these children and their siblings.

Gold Rush Cure board member Fred Haton attended the Lemonade Stand fundraiser Sunday and helped man the booth.

“Fred came from San Clemente to be there for the day,” Juliana’s mother Cara Garcia said. “He was amazing talking to all of the people who came Sunday and chatting with the community.”

Fred battled cancer years ago and he said when he was going through treatment it was difficult to see the kids who had to deal with cancer.

“He always wanted to give back,” Cara said. “He just kept saying how awesome the stand was on Sunday and thanked us over and over.”

In addition to the money raised by the lemonade sales, the Garcias accepted donations at the stand and sold raffle tickets for many amazing items.

“We had a great turnout with a constant flow of traffic the entire time,” Cara said. “At times it was difficult to chat with everyone, but I was glad to have my family as well as some of my daughter’s friends helping out.”

Juliana and some of her friends went door to door passing out flyers to local neighbors on Friday and Saturday.

Others saw the signs hanging at the market or read the article in The Friday Flyer.

The event raised over $2,600 Sunday, but Cara is confident more donations will continue to come  in.

“The raffle prizes were a big hit and I’m in the process of still delivering them to the homes of the winners,” Cara said. “We had a large donation from the Canyon Lake Fire department. They presented Juliana with a $100 check. Steve Libring came and donated $500. Steve has actually been part of our lives since my daughter was diagnosed with cancer in 2015. His Canyon Lake Bible study group used to take turns bringing us meals weekly during her treatment as we were traveling to CHLA and had very long commute times.”

Cara said the annual Lemonade Stand fills her with mixed emotions because it is difficult sharing Juliana’s story multiple times during the day, but it is worth it because that story puts her into a position to give back to the cancer community.

“Canyon Lake never ceases to amaze me,” she said. “They come out and support us and children like my daughter. I don’t know when we’re going to stop, but for now we are so grateful. I tallied up how much money has been raised in the five Lemonade Stands we’ve held. The total is over $10,000. The success is all because of our community…our amazing Canyon Lake community.”