b'Delanie Dennis with two of her dogs,Lily the senior Pug and Cooper, theLabrador puppy adopted fromFlorida All Retriever Rescue.Believe That You Can,Youre Halfway ThereWords and pictures by Anna CookeShe is the light at the end of that dark tunnel; the reason hope will continue to spring eternal.Like sunshine thats unconcerned it will rain, she is the rainbow after it does. In a year that has tested the mettle of began creating dog and cat toys to for pediatric cancer. The story is ansomanyindependentbusiness sell. My lemonade stand donations example of how the small act of oneowners, Delanie Dennis helped pull were way off, Delanie said. Science, person can have an impact on many.herfamilyandtheirbusiness shesays,isherfavoritesubjectin After reading the book, Delaniethrough the 2020 abyss. She did it school. I love to experiment. wondered how she could make a dif-while also orchestrating fundraising Shelearnedhowtomakethe ferencewithherownlemonadeeffortstocontinuegivingbackto toysbywatchingavideofrom stand. Her mom, Julie Dennis, saidlocal animal rescue groups and shel- the Humane Society of Tampa Bay the big idea came from watching anters.Delanieturnednineon duringtheironlineCritterCamp. ASPCA television commercial. February21,2021andDelanies Now we make the toys on an as- The one with Sarah McLachlanLemonadeStand hasraisedmore neededbasisforthelemonade talking about animal abuse while herthan $25,000 since 2019.stand. song Angel plays in the background,Hergoalissimple:justkeep Spend a minute with her, and it said Julie. It makes everyone wantadding on. Im trying to raise over becomesclearhowDelaniehas to change the channel. Delanie hit$40,000,shetoldusduringa accomplishedsomuchatsucha the pause button and ran to us in therecent lunch at her parents restau- youngage.Captivating,shefully next room and asked if the messagerant,appropriatelynamedCaf engages with her audience, whether was true.Delanie. And I remind everyone to its one person or a group of 10. Her Theydiscussedthecommer-adopt, dont shop.face is expressivefrom serious to cials message. I told mom and dadEachmonth,afterdoingher happytoseriousagain.During howhorribletheanimalslooked.researchandconsultingwithher conversation, her hands move pur- Thats when I got the idea for myparents, Delanie selects a Tampa Bay posefullyforemphasis.Shelooks lemonadestand,Delanietoldus.area animal shelter or rescue group straight into the eyes of the listener. Since then, Ive learned that thereto be the beneficiary of her fundrais- This girl has a message, and shes not aresomanyanimalstohelp,andingcampaign. ThemenuforCaf kidding around. thatallpawsareimportant.Delaniechangesdailyandseveral Delanies inspiration was a book Although, kittens are my favorite.items are listed as daily specials. For shereadAlexandtheAmazing Among the 20 animals she has atan entire month, one hundred per- Lemonade Stand. Its the true story of home (most of them adopted fromcent of sales from the daily specials a little girl named Alex. Faced with a sheltersandrescuegroups)Delaniego right to the beneficiary. Delanie problem, she comes up with a plan hastwocats:MochaFrappuccinopresents a check each month.toselllemonadefromalemonade Meow Meow and Latte MacchiatoWhenthepandemichit,she stand to raise money and awareness Sprinkles.Continued on page 48 g46 THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com'