The Lemonade Guy needs our help

“Lemonade, lemonade, like Grandma made!” If you’ve ever been a regular at Chase Field, or a number of other sporting venues in the valley, you’ll have heard that phrase echoing round the stands. It belongs to Derrick Moore, whose endlessly cheerful personality has brought delight to fans at the ballpark since it opened in 1998. That is only part of a career now totaling more than thirty years. In 2015, he was named the best vendor in MLB, and was also recognized by Taylor Swift as “Skittles Guy” for his energetic approach to peddling candy during her tour stop in Phoenix. He is an icon, and beloved by fans as much as the Flag Lady or Baxter

“I thought about my grandma and everything she did for me. She made me lemonade, she made me other dishes she liked. It was made with love.”
— Derrick Moore

However, like so many, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused problems for Derrick, with few events at which he can peddle his trade. AZ Family yesterday reported that Moore is now suffering from health problems, and because of the pandemic, has not been able to afford to maintain the private health insurance he previously had. According to his wife, “over the past few weeks her husband has become increasingly disoriented, and there have been two incidents where she’s had to call paramedics because he was sweating and panting uncontrollably. “It seems to be a neurological problem,” Renita Sanders-Moore said.”

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help cover Moore’s medical costs, and fans have already stepped up bigtime. It reached its $50,000 goal in only 50 hours, and at the time of writing is up over $57,000. But I’m sure more would be welcome. The link is below, and is well worth your support. Few things would sign the real return of normality than being able to sit at Chase Field and hear “LEMONADE, LEMONADE, LIKE GRANDMA MADE!” coming down the aisle at you. Let’s make it happen.