Two middle schoolers hosting lemonade stand for St. Jude

MADISON – This summer, two local middle schoolers are continuing a selfless tradition of using their summer break to raise money for a special cause.

Seventh Grader Landri Kruse and Sixth Grader Maelin-Kate Carlson have manned their own lemonade stand every year since 2022, but this is no ordinary lemonade stand. Maelin and Landri’s lemonade raises funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This year, their lemonade stand will be held July 11 in the Heritage Station subdivision.

For Maelin, this hard work is to help other children, like her, in need of treatment to improve their health.

“I’m a St Jude patient, and they saved my life, so I want to return the favor by helping all the kids,” said Maelin.

Maelin’s mom, Megan, said that St. Jude stepped up to help Maelin through a treatment they had never done at their facility before. When she was five years old, Maelin-Kate was diagnosed with a rare genetic blood disorder.

“We were told Maelin had hip dysplasia,” Megan said, but when the Carlsons scheduled a series of hip surgeries, pre-surgery labs revealed abnormalities.

Their pediatrician scheduled an appointment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, ultimately diagnosing Maelin with the rare Fanconi Anemia, a blood disorder that often leads to bone marrow failure. “By the grace of God, a doctor at the clinic had worked in Minnesota in the Fanconi Anemia Clinic. She spotted the signs in Maelin right away and ordered the correct test for diagnosis. It’s an extremely rare genetic blood disease most doctors haven’t heard of,” Megan said.

In 2019, St. Jude performed the bone marrow transplant Maelin needed.

“We travel to St. Jude’s every six months for treatment. She’ll probably go there for the rest of her life because we can’t cure her disease,” said Megan. “They truly stepped up, and they performed a transplant for a disease they had never done a transplant for; she was the first one. They went through all the protocols and all the treatments, and they educated the doctors and nurses so she could have her transplant there.”

In 2021, NBC’s “Today” show featured Maelin’s inspiring story and how St. Jude’s saved her life.

In 2022, the two friends started their lemonade stand with a goal of raising $400 for St. Jude’s. Now, going into their 4th year, they have raised nearly $14,000, and they are looking forward to adding to that number this year with the continued support of the community.

“We get local bakeries and Chick-fil-A to donate some stuff, and we sell those and lemonade, and you can get any baked good or lemonade with any donation,” said Landri Landri’s mom, Elizabeth Kruse, said that through their lemonade stand and hard work, they are inspiring their community while helping others.

“I feel like they are both a big inspiration to a lot of people,” said Elizabeth. “The first year they wanted to stay out all day, and they loved it. They hustled. It was hot and they were sweaty, and then they couldn’t wait to do it the next year. Last year it was bigger, and they worked even harder and raised even more money than we could have ever dreamed, and they can’t wait to do it again this year.”

Maelin said that when people support their lemonade stand, it makes her happy, and she is excited for the next one.

“All our friends and neighbors come here to the lemonade stand,” Maelin said. “We have our lemonade stand by the pool. I say donations for St. Jude, and they just empty out their pockets, and we give them lemonade. And also, last year, Landri’s mom talked to local bakeries, and we got some treats for all the neighbors and friends.”

The community response to the lemonade stand has been enthusiastic, and many adults close to Landri and Maelin have worked to help support them.

“It’s just amazing, each year it gets bigger and bigger,” said Elizabeth. “They’ve gotten their orthodontist involved, the teachers at their school and assistant principal have been a huge help just getting the word out. It’s amazing to watch the community come together to support them, crushing their goals. It is just nice to see them all working together to support the girls who are supporting St Jude.”

The girls spend a lot of their time planning and thinking about their lemonade stand throughout the year and look forward to it every year.

“Now they’ve got the bug, and they talk about it a lot,” Megan said. “I car-pool them to school in the mornings, and they talk about it all year long, and they’re talking about being little old ladies in the nursing home doing their lemonade stand. They are committed, and we are just going to support them as long as we can, because we’re so proud of them and how much hard work they put into it.”

Landri and Maelin pour a lot of preparation into the stand, including partnering with local businesses.

“We reach out to businesses and ask them to donate, and we’re making posters, signs, T-shirts and stickers,” Landri said. “We serve lemonade, and we will run up to the street and hold up our posters and do stuff like that.”

The girls are always looking for ways to improve their product too.

Last year, the girls added edible glitter for an extra sparkle to the lemonade, and the year before, they added boba pearls. “They keep coming up with ideas to make it bigger and better,” said Elizabeth.

Amidst all the fun, giving back to St. Jude is also a reminder for the Carlson family of what St. Jude has done for Maelin.

“We’re just so grateful that she’s doing so well. She’s healthy, she’s in regular school, and she’s doing all the things that we’ve dreamed for her to do. So, to be able to give back to St. Jude, that’s just what keeps us going, that’s our heartbeat. We love so much what their mission is, and we just want to help and save as many kids as we possibly can and show our appreciation,” Megan said.

Maelin continues to be a patient at St. Jude where she receives check-ups every 6 months.

Maelin and Landri’s 2026 Lemonade Stand will be held Saturday, July 11 at their neighborhood clubhouse, 116 Bayberry Lane, Madison 35758, in the Heritage Station subdivision. The stand will offer Chickfil- a lemonade, donated baked goods, a raffle table, games, and more.