THOMASVILLE — The young minds behind Lemon-Aid: Stand for a Cause set up shop for the first time in 2022 Friday to raise money for a 6-year-old girl named Preslee Blalock, who was recently diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancerous tumor, after findings revealed a mass behind her nose. 

William and Thomas Casper and J.C. and Neil Wise, the brothers behind Lemon-Aid: Stand for a Cause, found out about Kate from a network of friends and family and knew it was time to get to work.

“We heard about it and, instantly, we knew that was probably what we should do,” William Casper, 14, said. 

Starting as a way to make money, the two pairs of brothers were amazed at the support they received from the local community at their first lemonade stand and decided to give back. 

“Well, it started off as a little lemonade in the yard and we decided to make it big. We decided to make barbecue sandwiches and, look how it turned out.” JC Wise, 13, said, “The community supported us.”

According to Thomas Casper, 11, the amount of money they made really pushed them to find those in the community who could use those funds more than them.

“We were making so much money we didn’t want to keep it all. We wanted to donate and give it back to people like Preslee and everybody else around the community,” he said. 

From the Thomasville-Thomas County Humane Society to the Treehouse Children’s Advocacy Center, their business, aided by friends and family, has supported many local charities and individuals in difficult situations, such as Preslee and her family.

Haley Blalock, Preslee’s mother, said that her daughter, who was diagnosed in April, has been keeping strong during this and has slowly come to understand that she has cancer. According to Haley, Preslee isn’t letting it hold her down and is excited for the summer. 

Blalock added that she is amazed at the efforts of the young brothers behind Lemon-Aid: Stand for a Cause.

“It’s amazing that at such a young age they’re doing this to help someone they really don’t even know, a small child,” she said. “They’re doing it out of the goodness of their heart. They’re also growing and learning to be great, young men.”

Preslee is being treated at Wolfson’s Children Hospital and Nemour’s Children’s Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. She has already gone through one round of chemotherapy and the full treatment will consist of 15 months, both chemotherapy and radiation.

For their efforts, the Lemon-Aid: Stand for a Cause team were astounded by the rush of business on Friday, with many trips for extra cookies and lemonade having to be made and over 300 sandwiches being sold. 

“It’s been crazy,” Neil Wise, 11, said. 

The brothers were all thankful for the support from the community, with William Casper saying that their success is owed to their kindness. 

“We’re very successful and we thank the community for that,” he said.

The stand was set up on the corner of Nottingham Drive. and Old Monticello Road from 11 a.m. until they sold out early into the afternoon, raising over $5,000. All proceeds were donated to the Blalock family to help with the cost for Preslee’s treatments. 

More information about additional fundraising endeavors for the Blalock Family and Preslee can be found on the Pray4Preslee Facebook page. 

Payton Fletcher can be reached at 229-226-2400, ext. 1826