Elizabeth Poggi sits with one of the kittens at Dakin Humane Society.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
AGAWAM — Fundraising is hard work, but for Elizabeth Poggi, it is worth it. The 7-year-old has run a lemonade stand for the past three summers, helping the animals at Dakin Humane Society one sip at a time.
Dakin is near and dear to Poggi’s heart. “Both my cats are from Dakin,” she said. “I have Sunny, who is four right now, but we adopted her when she was a kitten. She’s an orange kitty who also made me start thinking about the lemonade stand. Then, in March of 2025, we got Lasagna, the calico, and she is 1 year old.”
Poggi first decided to run a lemonade stand in 2023, “because I love lemonade.” She knew from the start that she wanted to donate the money to the humane society, and wanting to encourage their daughter, her parents committed to matching every dollar she earned. In the first year, Poggi was able to donate $420. Since then, her fundraising skills have grown considerably. This year, she gave $1,070 to help animals in need.
Poggi’s philanthropic mission is teaching her about setting reasonable goals for herself. Thinking about next year’s lemonade stand, she said, “I would really like to reach $2,000, but I feel like I won’t be able to reach that, so if I can’t reach that, I’m hoping for $1,500.”
