PITTSFIELD, Mass.—In two years, nine-year-old Elliot Mack raised about $800 with his lemonade stand for local organizations, but this year he set out on a mission to raise $1,000 for the nonprofit Strong Little Souls Foundation.
And the community has gone above and beyond, doubling his original goal.
This year Elliot raised $2,020 in donations and sales for the organization dedicated to "brightening the lives of children battling cancer, and their families."
"It's so cool to see people so young give back, especially because I started Strong Little Souls when I was only 13," said Strong Little Souls Foundation founder Madison Quinn.
Elliot said he enjoys running the lemonade stand so decided to use it as an opportunity to give back to the community. He said this year he decided to raise funds for the nonprofit because he knows a few kids that have faced pediatric cancer.
Strong Little Souls Foundation was founded in 2014 and it helps families affected by pediatric cancer. Strong Little Souls sends care packages, offer financial assistance, and grant wishes for children battling cancer.
"I've been running Strong Little Souls for about nine years now. We work with families locally across the [United States] Right now. I feel like every day I come across a new family locally which is so unfortunate," Quinn said. "But we have so much need in this community to support these families, whether it's financially or sometimes I pick up kids from school while their parents are at the hospital just doing whatever I can to support our families locally,"
Quinn said when Elliot's mom Danielle Mack reached out to her she said the goal of raising $1,000 felt "crazy" but Quinn reassured her that is not the case.
Quinn said when she first started her nonprofit a lot of people thought she was "crazy" but young people should never be underestimated.
Quinn said her favorite messages she receives are from parents expressing that their children are interested in doing a school project on her nonprofit or would like to put together a fundraiser.
And she said they will take all the help they can get. Childhood cancer is severely underfunded despite how common it is, Quinn said.
"Adult cancers receive 92 percent of all cancer research funding which is so unfortunate because children are our future and they have so much life to live," Quinn said.
"The average life loss of a child with cancer is seven years when it's an adult with cancer, the average lifespan loss is seven. So children are just missing out on so much and they really should be our priority. So it's so important for me just to continue supporting kids with cancer and increasing funding and advocating for these kids."
According to the American Childhood Cancer Organization cancer is the number 1 cause of death by disease for children in America.
Each year an estimated 15,780 children between the ages of birth and 19 are diagnosed with cancer.
The stand became a community effort this year with Elliot receiving food donations from residents Janet and Bob Kent, Karen McHugh, Debbie Southard, and Maureen Daniels and Shire Donuts, that donated a dozen donuts.
The first year he held his lemonade stand he wanted to help kids get memberships to the Boys and Girls Club who couldn't afford one.
Last year he chose Soldier On & Operation Bridges because his grandfather is a veteran. Also Elliot is a fan of Officer Derby who runs Copsicle, funded by the nonprofit, Mack said.
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Berkshire United Way to Massachusetts: Early-Learning Educators Need Better Wages
By Katherine von Haefen Guest Column
As reported in iBerkshires, state education officials met with Western Massachusetts childcare and early education advocates at Berkshire Community College recently. I had the opportunity to share the following testimony on behalf of Berkshire United Way and our community partners.
Early childhood education provides tremendous benefits to our region. High-quality child care dramatically influences brain development and the future health and success for children in school and life, as well as provides a safe and secure space for our youngest community members so their parents or caregivers can work and provide for their families.
Berkshire United Way has invested in improving early childhood development opportunities in the Berkshires for decades. We fund high-quality nonprofit child-care centers that provide slots for income-constrained families. We also support the sector by co-hosting monthly child-care director meetings to work on shared challenges and collectively propose solutions. We advocate for early childhood education and have a great partner in this work, state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier.
Staffing is a key component of high-quality care. The research shows that skilled and consistent educators in a classroom create long-lasting change for children. However, wages are stagnant and frequently do not provide educators with basic financial stability. We often hear that educators have left the field because they are unable to make their finances work. Wages need to improve to better reflect the expertise and indelible impact teachers have in the field.
When we look specifically at our region, our data is concerning.
As Berkshire County emerges from the pandemic, we are struggling with transportation, affordable housing and lack of mental health resources, much like the rest of the state. We are also seeing a rise in economically challenged households.
After nearly 10 years of decline, Berkshire County has experienced a significant jump in income inequality, now exceeding the state and national trends and far above comparable counties, according to the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. Over half of our population are "economically challenged," meaning they are working but struggling to make ends meet. A single parent with a school-aged child needs between $70,000 and $80,000 in income and public benefits just to meet their basic needs.
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