AYHL players lend a helping hand at Frozen Lemonade Cup fundraiser

PHOENIXVILLE, Penn. — Watching his son play for the Junior Flyers 8U team, Larry Kagan became inspired to use his love of hockey to make a positive difference in the world. He created the Frozen Lemonade Cup, an annual hockey tournament that has donated thousands of dollars to the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a charity that raises money for pediatric cancer patients and cancer research.

“The first year was 2014, we had sixty kids. We raised maybe three or four thousand dollars,” Mr. Kagan recalls. “The kids just showed up,” added Frozen Lemonade Cup Board Member Amanda Zavodnick. “It was sort of like ‘if you build it, they will come.’ You just had all these kids just show up and play for this cause, and it just grew from there.” The annual fundraiser is still going strong a decade later, and has raised over $200,000 for ALSF.   

The event stayed in Pennsylvania for many years before expanding into Boston and Washington D.C, but was forced to downsize in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. When the Frozen Lemonade Cup needed a home, it was the Gevard family, owners of Oaks Center Ice, who stepped up to the plate. “John Gevard is so committed to this mission and is so happy to have this at his rink. He gives us three rinks for six hours, and doesn’t charge us a cent,” said Mr. Kagan. “Which means we can give so much more to ALSM. It’s really an amazing act of generosity by the Gevard family.” 

Since its humble beginnings, the Frozen Lemonade Cup has become a staple for the hockey community in the Atlantic District. The event now features upwards of 150 players across three age groups — 8U, 10U and 12U — and sells out in a matter of hours every year. Ms. Zavodnick believes that it’s a testament to the empathy and compassion of these players that they support the cause with this much vigor. “Even though they’re raising money for childhood cancer specifically, all these kids have some kind of experience with cancer. They get really into it,” said Ms. Zavodnick. “In addition to what we raise with the tournament, a lot of the kids raise money on their own. They host their own lemon stands, they go door-to-door. It’s really special.” 

The Frozen Lemonade Cup will be played on April 20, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. To learn more, visit their website at https://frozenlemonadecup.com.