NORTH CAPE MAY – Second-grader Adeline Yerk has lots of friends. Some of those friends and classmates are in foster care and want a forever family, a place to call home and a sense of permanency.
Yerk, 7, found a way to help children in the same situation.
She came up with the idea to sell lemonade to thirsty customers passing her home in North Cape May. She enlisted the help of her mother, Cady Yerk, who then enlisted a friend to help her build a lemonade stand, complete with pink awning, Adeline Yerk’s logo, “Miss Lemonade,” and a lemon slice on the front.
Yerk squeezed the juice out of 100 lemons, one half at a time, by herself.
“The secret to good lemonade is lots of water and sugar,” Yerk volunteered.
A good glass of lemonade is well-complimented by a snack, so mom was again called to duty.
“I baked chocolate chip cookies, brownies, and frosted sugar cookies,” Cady Yerk said. Adeline Yerk slipped them into decorative bags (while fighting off cousins wishing to sample the goods) and wheeled her stand to the end of the driveway.
Aug. 30 was a hot day and business was good, when a Lower Township policeman stopped for a drink and let his coworkers know of the business set up for charity.
“All of a sudden, policemen, municipal utilities authority (MUA) workers, public works employees on break and neighbors were in line for lemonade. It was hard to keep up,” Yerk explained.
She kept up though, and when the dust settled and the police cars and trash trucks rolled down the street, the pint-sized entrepreneur had collected $500 for the Dave Thomas Foundation.
According to its website, “The Dave Thomas Foundation is North America’s only national nonprofit charity dedicated solely to finding permanent homes for the more than 150,000 children waiting in foster care.
“Created by Wendy’s founder, Dave Thomas, who was adopted, the foundation raises money to provide free educational resources, promote awareness, assist policymakers and employers, and support adoption professionals and agencies throughout the U.S. and Canada.
“Signature programs of the foundation include Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, a network of adoption recruiters throughout North America focused exclusively on North America’s longest-waiting children; and Adoption-Friendly Workplace, tools and expert guidance for companies and parents to help support adoption benefits like financial reimbursement and paid leave.”
Children are placed in foster care when a child protective services worker and the court have determined it is not safe for them to remain home. There were roughly 6,700 children in foster care in New Jersey in 2016, the most recent data available.
Cady Yerk said she was impressed with the amount of money raised and her daughter’s determination to help other children.
“We have three friends who adopted through the local foster care program. For a lot of these kids, the system is a revolving door, in and out of foster care. Adeline has seen that and wanted to help. I’m proud of her,” said Yerk.
Adeline Yerk’s grandfather, Paul Yerk, said it was a great learning experience.
“The adoption process takes a long time and the prospective parents really want these kids. Adeline’s hard work can help make that happen,” Yerk said.
The Yerks plan to open the stand again in the fall, and will ramp up their efforts next summer.
“Adeline worked hard,” Cady Yerk said, as the little lemonade maker laid her head on mom’s shoulder. “Now, it’s time to get ready for second grade.”
Avalon – Eighty percent of working-age Americans have jobs, and the average after-tax income is up almost $4,000 since before the pandemic, significantly outpacing inflation.
