lemon image that says Growing the Village is sweet

Join the 2024 Growing the Village Is Sweet campaign, a super-sweet fundraiser benefiting Foster Village SWFL.

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Celebrate Foster Care Awareness Month. Give back. Grow the Village.

Vulnerable children and families in our community deserve more than a system; they deserve a village of support beyond the foster care system.

You can be that village for them—while making your own life a little sweeter this May—by participating in Growing the Village Is Sweet, a SWFL-wide, lemonade-themed campaign benefiting Foster Village SWFL.

Our goal is to raise support for families in crisis and transition in our community… but we can’t do it without you! There’s a place for everyone in the village, so find yours and make a difference today!

For the entire month of May, families, businesses, churches, and the community in SWFL will come together to raise money for Foster Village SWFL — and there’s a role for you to play.

FAMILIES

Host a lemonade stand in your neighborhood and donate the proceeds to Foster Village SWFL.

Start an enriching new family tradition while spreading joy and teaching your kids about the power of service. We provide you with a lemonade stand kit, business plan, promo materials, and more to make hosting your stand easy and fun.

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BUSINESSES

Sell a lemon-themed product or Foster Village-related product for the month of May and donate the proceeds to Foster Village.

Show the heart of your business while amplifying your reach and bringing the community to your door. Customers love the creative products businesses have created in the past; think lemonade cookies, lemon bath bombs, a lemonade seltzer, a “Village” veggie pizza…the possibilities are endless!

We will promote your product on our website, in our lemonade stand kits, on our social media, and in our newsletter, and provide promotional materials that you can use to promote your product to your customers.

CHURCHES

Plan a lemonade stand with your children’s ministry and donate the proceeds to Foster Village SWFL.

Bring your church community together for sweet fellowship while planning a fun and engaging activity for your children’s ministry. We can help you plan and host a large-scale lemonade stand after Sunday services. We’ll provide you with a lemonade stand kit, promo graphics, and all needed materials.

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COMMUNITY

Shop local businesses who are participating and definitely stop at a lemonade stand if you come across one! Do good with every dollar you spend.

Give back while making life a little sweeter. For the entire month of June, when you shop at a participating local business or neighborhood lemonade stand, a portion of your purchase will be donated to Foster Village.

Don’t have time to host or shop? You can still make an impact by donating to Foster Village. All gifts go directly to support our mission and programming.

GIVE NOW

 

Why lemons?

It all started a few years ago when a few young supporters decided to host lemonade stands in their neighborhood to raise money for kids in their community. The idea was so sweet that more families joined the next year, and then local businesses reached out and said they wanted to get involved too.

Now, it’s turned into an annual community-wide event that gets sweeter every year!

And even though the theme is summery and fun, it also has a deeper meaning, because we watch the children and families we serve turn lemons into lemonade every day.

Families experiencing foster care often face challenges like isolation, trauma, poverty, and adversity…and they are also some of the most resilient people we know, overcoming these barriers and building beautiful, sweet lives together.

With a village of support, vulnerable families in our community are empowered to break generational cycles of adversity and write new stories for themselves and their children. It doesn’t get much sweeter than that!

2024 PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES

Shop sweet products from local businesses and give back while squeezing every last drop out of summer.

     

         

     

About Foster Village SWFL

Foster Village SWFL bridges the gap between those experiencing foster care and those who want to help, meeting practical needs and providing holistic support beyond the system.

We equip families with basic necessities like clothes and furniture; connect caregivers to resources and to each other; and walk alongside biological families as they work to restore their families. As we bring dignity to the system and care for the caregivers, foster families are sustained, and generations of vulnerable children and families are empowered to overcome adversity.

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THANK YOU TO OUR 2024 SPONSORS