Lemonade Stands & Birthday Gifts Help Gulf Oil Spill Victims

Donations to the Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund from people everywhere will make a big impact in helping our communities recover in the months and years to come. Just as inspiring as the generosity of donors, is the imagination they have used in creating fun, unique fundraisers to benefit the Gulf Coast region. The Fund is administered by the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

Melissa Plaskoff of North Dallas wanted to help Haiti after the recent earthquake, but she wasn’t sure how. A few days later, her four-year-old son asked if he and his brother could host a lemonade stand, and an idea was born. She told them yes, if they donated all the proceeds to Haiti. Her son loved the idea, and they raised $150 in less than two hours.

Spreading the word via social media such as Facebook and Twitter and talking to other mothers, Plaskoff launched Lemons to Aid. More than 50 Lemons to Aid events held around the country since then are plotted on the map on their website, providing a powerful visual aid to show children how they can help those in need

Other one-of-a-kind fundraisers are springing up around the country and the world.

Instead of asking for gifts for her upcoming 50th birthday, Louisiana resident Debbie Cox is asking friends and family to donate to the Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund.

Daun Lynch and Lisa Montgomery, teachers and stepsisters from Ontario, are raising funds through their upcoming bicycle tour from San Francisco to Vancouver this summer. They are calling the tour “Get out the Grease.”

Kristofer Koerber of Maine is organizing a marathon to garner support from that state’s fishing communities to give to the fishing communities in Louisiana.

Similar events have also been held in Chicago, Denver, and Portland, sponsored by eating and drinking establishments in those cities.

The Greater New Orleans Foundation is accepting online donations to the Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund at www.gnof.org. One hundred percent of all monies raised will go directly to benefit the areas most affected by the oil spill.