Monroe resident Abbey Aney held her final lemonade stand of the summer over the weekend to help raise money for her annual holiday toy drive.
She set up her booth on Saturday, Sept. 13, near the Swift Night Out celebration. She featured both yellow and pink lemonade, along with homemade cupcakes donated by Molly Daniels, the owner of Baby Cakes.
Aney has become known in the Sky Valley area for her enthusiastic desire to help Sky Valley families who are less fortunate. Since she was four years old, she has donated countless toys to the Sky Valley Food Bank to distribute at Christmas time so that every Sky Valley family can provide gifts for their children during the holidays.
Last year, Aney acquired and donated 5,800 toys during the holiday season. Since she started her toy drives seven years ago, her donations have risen to over 13,000 total toys donated. In August she was awarded the 2014 Citizenship Award by the Monroe Masonic Lodge, and she also served as the Junior Grand Marshall during this year's Monroe Fair Days parade.
Aney, who turned 11 on September 8, decided to utilize her birthday as a means of furthering her cause.
"For my birthday I had just this little thing on Facebook,GÇ¥ said Aney. "It was a video of me saying that I wanted to help others for my birthday.GÇ¥
Aney created a wish list on Amazon.com, with a personal message and a promise that all items purchased will be donated to the Sky Valley Food Bank.
This year, Aney plans on placing an emphasis on toys and items for teenager, as she noticed a growing need during last year's toy drive. So far Aney has stocked up on brightly colored scarf sets, watches, blankets and much more.
Manning the lemonade stand with her was Miss Sky Valley Queen of Queens Shiloh Bassetti. Bassetti has partnered with Aney on other events as well, and is currently the reigning Miss Aquafest, as well as Miss Queen of the Jungle, which is a pageant out of Portland, Ore. meant to raise money to help save mountain gorillas.
For more information on Aney's toy drive, please visit the Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/AbbeysAnnualTraditionToyDrive?fref=photo. And to view her birthday wish list of items she'd like to contribute to the Sky Valley Food Bank, please visit: http://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/2CK9XFYAJE760/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_ws_8GBdub1W142WC.
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