NJ man's lemonade stand sandcastle raises money for childhood cancer research
OCEAN CITY, New Jersey (WPVI) -- Building sandcastles became a hobby for David Coyle of Williamstown, New Jersey, when his son was born. Vacationing in Ocean City led to plenty of opportunities to construct masterpieces in time for the tide to wash them away.
Last year, Coyle's nephew, 9-year-old Joseph Dickerson, asked if they could make a sandcastle inspired by the Phillies' Citizens Bank Park. But this year, Coyle noticed the request was a little different.
"I said, 'Hey, what do you want to build this year while you're on your vacation with the crew?' and he goes, 'I want to build a lemonade stand'," said Coyle.
That sparked an even better idea. Coyle decided to reach out to Alex's Lemonade Stand and create a fundraiser surrounding the construction of their sandcastle. They raised more than $2,000 for childhood cancer research already.
The Coyles invited the Adkins family from Haddon Township to join them on the beach today. Trish Adkins became involved with Alex's Lemonade Stand when her daughter, Lily, was diagnosed with a brain tumor at 14 months old.
"When your child is diagnosed with cancer, it's lonely. You feel all alone, and then suddenly, you look around and realize you're not," said Trish Adkins. "There's organizations like Alex's Lemonade Stand and there's people like the Coyles who just want to help. And we can all help."
16-year-old Lily, who is now cancer-free, had the chance to serve lemonade behind the sensational sculpture on the 12th Street beach this morning.
"I'm pretty happy that I'm here but I also know that other people put in the work to do it just for kids like me," she said. "And it makes me really happy."
To learn more about Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer, visit their website.
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