Local Girls Raise Money for Charity

Many residents of the beaches – the Atlantic Beach area in particular – have been aware of and supporting the neighborhood bake sales put on by young baker Lily Greenwald and her sister and assistant Maggie.

Lily came up with the idea of raising money for the Jacksonville Cleft Lip and Palate Clinic in Wolfson Children’s Hospital because Maggie has benefited from the Clinic for several years.

They decided on three bake sales: an end-of- summer sale,  a Halloween-themed sale, and one for the holidays.  The girls planned to present their check to the Clinic staff at their annual Christmas party.  The girls arranged the sales in their neighborhood and did all the work themselves – from baking and packaging, to pricing,  setup, and cleanup.  With each passing sale, more people got on the bandwagon and helped them to be successful.

“Everyone’s become invested in helping the girls reach their goal,” Lily’s mom said gratefully.

Their final bake sale was held on Sunday, which was chilly and rainy; a terrible day for an outdoor bake sale.  So they moved the treats to the warm, dry car, and tailgated it.  The support of so many friends and neighbors who showed up ready to buy  and/or  made cash donations was touching.

The girls raised a total of $260.04, exceeding their $250 goal,  and on Monday night presented the check to Nikki Anson, the Clinic’s nurse coordinator. They’ve served hundreds of children in north Florida and south Georgia who were born with varying degrees of cleft-affection.  Kids born cleft-affected require the services of one or many medical or therapeutic specialists over the course of their childhood and teenage years.

The Clinic is staffed with a nurse coordinator and assistant; the doctors and specialists donate a day of professional services each month.  They see hundreds of kids during a twelve-month cycle. In the interim, Nurse Nikki Anson and her staff are always available to help parents navigate the medical maze and coordinate care across several disciplines, or to help families with cleft-affected newborns get the medical services they need.

They were thrilled to receive Lily and Maggie’s check, and presented the girls with official certificates of appreciation and silver key chains to let them know how much they appreciated their efforts for the clinic.

“It’s nice to know that we’re remembered during the year, outside of a family’s annual clinic visit,” Nikki Anson told us.  “We operate on a shoestring budget, and we think it’s important to be able to offer events like this (the annual Christmas party) so the kids can see that there are lots of other children who struggle with many of the same issues they do.”

Dr. John Obi, a prominent Jacksonville plastic surgeon who has donated time and services to the Clinic for years, was equally touched by the girls’ commitment and thoughtfulness.   “I think your raising this money was a wonderful thing,” he told her, while Lily shyly sat and accepted the compliment.