Martelli family celebrates 10 years of lemonade stand fundraisers

Special to the Journal

When Kayla and Jordan Martelli set up their first lemonade stand on Dale Street 10 years ago to help with the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, both of them were barely tall enough to see over the table and welcomed visitors with the bright smile of young elementary school girls.

Now, both are in high school and all grown up, to an extent, but continue on with their summer lemonade stand fundraiser, which they held last weekend, and which has become a tradition in the city every summer. It’s also become a great fundraiser for the Foundation, as they raised $5,400 just this year, which put them at more than $50,000 over the decade.

Anthony Cogliandro visited with Jordan and Kayla at their fundraiser last weekend.

“We look forward to this every year,” said Kayla, 17, who is a senior at Revere High. “It’s nice to see everyone in the community come by and support a good cause. We are so thankful for the support and can’t wait to do it again next year.”

Said Jordan, 14, an RHS freshman, “It’s amazing how big the event has gotten since we started. We hope that we’ve been able to make an impact on a child’s life in a positive way.”

The stand started as a summer bucket list item 10 years ago when the Martelli family set out to organize their summer in order to make the most of it. The kids wanted to do a lemonade stand and decided to give the money to charity. After some research, they landed on Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

The two girls have been recognized by the nonprofit as top donors in 2018 and 2019. During the pandemic, they held a virtual stand and raised $3,000. The city has also recognized them a couple of times for their effort, as well.

Lastly, both Kayla and Jordan have continued their passion for volunteerism and are now Project 351 Ambassadors. They said their passion for helping others has grown over the years. They are honored to represent the city for that program and are proud of the work they’ve done around the stand.

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