FunStop event to help finance summer camp tuition for children in need

Three Cape Girardeau siblings -- Lillian, 10, Joshua, 8, and 6-year-old Audrey Niermann -- are planning a fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club Summer Scholarship Fund to help send other children to camp.

The FunStop event is set for 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at Bel Air Grill, 24 S. Spanish St.

Food, drinks, face painting, prizes and a caricaturist will be available for a donation. Admission is free, and no tickets are needed. Regional businesses and attractions have donated admission passes and gift certificates, said Alison Niermann, the children's mother.

The Natural Food Store also has agreed to be a FunStop participant for the day by placing a donation jar on its counter, Niermann said. The Niermanns moved to Cape Girardeau from St. Louis in April 2013.

The FunStop idea was born two years ago while the Niermanns were living in St. Louis. Alison and the children were on a back-to-school shopping trip and they all got to talking about students who don't have new supplies for school. To do something about it, the children decided to hold a fundraiser.

"We wanted to do something like a lemonade stand, but bigger," Lillian Niermann said in a news release.

The siblings each invited a friend to help and named their day FunStop, Kids Helping Kids.

"We named it that because it's a place to stop, have some fun and give back to children," Joshua Niermann said.

In a few hours, the children had raised almost $1,000 in their front yard and presented their contribution to the Little Bit Foundation, a St. Louis organization that provides backpacks filled with back-to-school supplies to children in need.

The Boys and Girls Club's Summer Brain Gain, an educational summer program for ages 5 to 15, will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 2 through July 11 at the Shawnee Park Center in Cape Girardeau.

Weekly modules include learning exercises, games, arts and crafts, field trips and other activities.

Summer learning loss has a devastating effect on children, especially those who don't participate in enriching summer activities, according to information from the Boys and Girls Club.

Niermann said plans are to incorporate FunStop to teach children from all backgrounds business and life skills, helping them "pave a path to a brighter future."

For more information, visit funstopforkids.org or facebook.com/funstopforkids.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

388-3639

Pertinent address:

24 S. Spanish St., Cape Girardeau, MO