Way to go: Ward Melville student sells lemonade to help sick kids
Joseph Mastriano, a senior at Ward Melville High School in East Setauket, has raised more than $100,000 through the Three Village Kids Lemonade Stand. Credit: Maddie Mastriano
A Ward Melville High School student has raised more than $100,000 through a lemonade stand he co-created with his sister nine years ago.
Joseph Mastriano, a senior at the East Setauket school, conceived the Three Village Kids Lemonade Stand as a third-grader with his sister, Madeline, who is now a junior at Loyola University. Together, they have raised about $109,000 for Stony Brook Children's Hospital's Child Life Program.
Last summer's fundraiser, which collected $40,000, consisted of a drive-thru event and virtual livestream due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be the same format this year for their last-ever lemonade stand on Aug. 9.
"When we started growing with this, we promised we would keep it going until I graduated," Joseph, 17, said. "We're hoping it's going to be biggest and best one ever."
The stand started in front of their house and over the years progressed to being held at R.C. Murphy Junior High School in Stony Brook, the Mastrianos said. They also have collected funds through the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe and attracted sponsors including Island Federal Credit Union.
Joseph is also treasurer of his school's Student Government, a section leader in marching band, a member of the wind ensemble, varsity ice hockey team, Key Club, National Honor Society, Tri-M Music Honor Society and Suffolk County's 5th Legislative District's Youth Engagement Task Force.
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
