OLD BRIDGE — With the help of Olympic Gold Gymnast Laurie Hernandez, five-year-old Cailin Quaglia raised $100 toward Relay for Life through a lemonade stand.
Relay For Life is the signature fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Old Bridge will hold its 10th annual event on May 19 at Lombardi Field.
Cailin, a kindergartener at M. Scott Carpenter Elementary School, began her fundraising efforts after she heard an announcement from Laura Ambos, a fifth-grade teacher at the school, who was leading the efforts to organize a schoolwide Relay For Life fundraiser.
Cailin decided on her own to set up a lemonade stand on April 14 and donate all the money to Relay For Life.
Her parents, Janet and Luigi Quaglia, reached out via social media to Hernandez, who lives in Old Bridge, to share their daughter’s efforts.
Hernandez, who earned a gold medal as part of the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team as well as a silver medal on her beam performance at the 2016 Summer Olympics, took the time to come out, donate and support the cause, according to the Quaglias.
The Quaglias thanked the Carpenter School staff in a letter for “teaching Cailin that helping others is so important.”
For more information, visit www.RelayForLife.org/OldBridgeNJ.