Lemonade Stand Connects Community, Benefits Waves of Strength

Jul 22, 2023

By Juliet Kaszas-Hoch | on August 30, 2023

BEVERAGES FOR A CAUSE: A group of children take a break from bicycling along Beach Avenue in Haven Beach to enjoy lemonade at a stand with (from left) Enzo and Luisa Villafranco at the helm. (Supplied Photos)

Luisa and Enzo Villafranco had a busy day earlier this month as the siblings – ages 6 and 3, respectively – staffed their annual lemonade stand near their family’s home on East Nevada Avenue in Haven Beach. As parents Bill and Cortney explained, this is the third summer the children have sold their $1 refreshments for charity; this year, all proceeds benefited Waves of Strength.

As the sign hanging from the youngsters’ lemonade stand read, Waves of Strength is “a 501(c) nonprofit organization that helps children in the LBI and surrounding area who may be in disadvantaged situations, or have a critical illness or limited mobility, by giving them the wherewithal to experience the therapeutic and exhilarating experience of surfing in the ocean.”

The organization, founded by Rob Simek, holds an event in Long Beach Township each year, with volunteers taking kids out surfing to, as the website wavesofstrength.org notes, “harness the healing power of the ocean.”

“Waves of Strength truly believes … in the concept of surf therapy and its positive effects on cognitive and physical development, self-confidence and personal growth, as well as stress relief and socio-emotional well-being for our younger generations.”

The Villafranco children raised $400 for the organization this summer, after selling their lemonade to neighbors, passersby and a few construction workers taking a break from building a house nearby. Cortney Villafranco said the construction workers walked over to purchase drinks, but once they read the sign about Waves of Strength, they walked back to their site and came back with even more money to donate to the cause.

“We were tearing up,” she remarked.

SLEO I Alaina DeSanti of the Long Beach Township Police Department also stopped by the stand, and spent time chatting with the kids – and helping to instill in them an awareness of and respect for the township’s officers, Bill Villafranco said.

The Villafrancos, including Bill Sr., 87, met many people while out on the corner selling drinks. And for Bill and Cortney, it was nice to see the community togetherness, with everyone contributing to a great cause.

“We always explain the importance of giving back to our children,” Bill noted. “The Island has given us so much. It’s really important for us as a family to give back,” and to learn that anyone and everyone can make a difference.

The first year the Villafranco children posted up to sell lemonade, the proceeds went to Compassion Café, “a nonprofit that seeks the integration of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities through hands-on training and employment in a small coffee shop environment,” as stated on the group’s website, compassioncafelbi.org. The following year, Luisa chose to donate the funds to a children’s hospital connected to Columbia University, where Enzo had tear duct surgery when he was younger.

Cortney said when she first heard of Waves of Strength, which was established five years ago, “I was super inspired. It’s really cool.”

Bill, a co-trustee of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, and Cortney, who helps administrate, also this summer facilitated a donation from the foundation to Waves of Strength. As stated at toulminfoundation.org, “The Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation is dedicated to improving the quality of life and improving conditions for children and their families in selected communities across the United States.”

The foundation has also benefited Surflight Theatre in Beach Haven; the Hunger Foundation of Southern Ocean, a nonprofit, volunteer-only organization that hosts charitable events to raise awareness about, and funds for, local food pantries; and Compassion Café.

As Bill pointed out, Cortney, who is “an educator, and brilliant,” researches the area organizations to help facilitate the donations. When they met Rob Simek of Waves of Strength, they were impressed by how genuine and passionate he is “about wanting to help kids,” said Bill.

According to Simek, since he established Waves of Strength, the organization has “grown quite a bit with the help of local business sponsors, donations from individuals and families and, more recently, some foundations.”

“It’s really great to see the kids get involved with supporting our organization; it’s a great way to grow character.”

This summer another group of children sold bracelets and shells to raise money for the nonprofit, and, at the organization’s 2023 surf event, one of the sales tents was run solely by kids ages 7 to 13.

“Also during the event we had kids from LIT (lifeguard in training) programs ages 11 and up start to help in the water by providing encouragement, wave-catching and riding, along with supporting the surf rider,” Simek explained.

KIDS HELPING KIDS: (From left) Enzo, Luisa and their mom show Waves of Strength founder Rob Simek one of the signs from the lemonade stand, as (from right) granddad and dad look on.

“All this is really great: to see the kids involved to inspire other kids and to grow to be helpful part of the community,” he added.

Simek said the recent donations to Waves of Strength will be used “to expand our reach by offering individual surf therapy experiences. This offers participants a chance to get into waves more often or experience surf therapy if they can’t make it to our main event. The therapy sessions are free, as we work with Spray Beach Surf School surf instructors. Most sessions are run by at least two instructors, and we had up to 4-to-1 ratio, depending on the participants’ needs.”

And as the organization emphasizes, “The sensational wonder of riding a wave, spending a day at the beach and soaking up the sun has the power to make the troubles in one’s life seem a little bit easier to tackle. … Whether it be by commissioning a special needs surf board, or overcoming a fear or seemingly impossible circumstance, our volunteers would like to make sure every child can have a go at riding a wave in their own way. This transformative and inspiring experience is the gift we would like to donate back to the Long Beach Island community children who may need special assistance in pursuing their dream of surfing.”

To learn more about Waves of Strength’s individual surfing sessions, email [email protected].

— Juliet Kaszas-Hoch

[email protected]

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