JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Very sad circumstances led to a wonderful gift.
On Tuesday night, there was a closing ceremony for Lucy's Lemonade Stand, which was a fundraiser in honor of Lucy Rose, a Jacksonville 8-year-old who passed away from a form of cancer.
Lucy’s parents, Jessica and Jordan Donmoyer, organized the lemonade stands, which were held all over the United States from Florida, to California, to New York and even Puerto Rico and raised $100,000.
“It was such a perfect moment that we knew Lucy set up,” said Erin Tracy, “that the exact amount raised was the exact amount we had already committed to funding.”
At the closing of the ceremony, the organization 'Fourth and Gold' presented a check for $100,000 in Lucy's honor to help fund neuroblastoma research. Neuroblastoma is a type of cancer that forms in the spinal cord.
The vast majority of the money that was donated came from the generosity of people in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida who participate in Fourth and Gold events.
"I can't emphasize enough how unusual it is that we have officially funded $226,000 in childhood cancer research grants in a year and a half," said Fourth and Gold founder Erin Tracy. "That's very much unheard of and I couldn't do that without the community, specifically the people in Jacksonville, who have really rallied around Fourth and Gold."
Fourth and Gold will host a cornhole tournament on Nov. 4, as all of the proceeds from that event will go towards childhood cancer research.
More information about Fourth and Gold can be found here.