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A Jacob deGrom jersey donated by the New York Mets and a signed photo of New York Giants player Eli Manning are all up for grabs with Evan and Joshua’s 15th Annual Hot Cocoa Stand.

Syracuse University sophomore Evan Greenberg and his younger brother, Josh, have been running their hot cocoa stand since 2007 and began raising money for the Pediatric Cancer Foundation in 2008. As of 2020, Evan & Joshua’s Hot Cocoa Stand has raised $61,750 for the foundation. Instead of selling hot chocolate this year during COVID-19, the brothers are running the stand virtually throughout April as a raffle event.

Over the last 15 years, Evan & Joshua’s Hot Cocoa Stand has grown from a small event for mostly family and friends to a much larger event that draws in new customers and thousands of people.

It all started when 5-year-old Evan decided he should have a hot cocoa stand for people who were cold in the winter. He then went home from school that day and began preparing by finding UPS and Postal Service boxes to scribble on.

Evan said that his parents didn’t take his plan seriously until he wouldn’t stop talking about it to teachers, classmates, friends and family. So they helped make it happen.

The first stand ran out of their garage in Mamaroneck, New York, with the brothers standing behind a white shipping box decorated with typed-out multicolored words “Evan & Joshua’s Superduper extra-chocolatey Hot Cocoa with Marshmallows Stand.”

The brothers initially started the hot cocoa stand out of their garage. Later, they expanded to Westchester Mall in White Plains, New York. Courtesy of The Journal News

The operation has expanded to run out of the Westchester Mall in White Plains, New York, for the last few years. Their dad is the primary hot chocolate maker, and their mom always takes pictures at the event.

One of Evan’s favorite parts of the annual hot cocoa stands is getting to interact with strangers, friends and family who swing by for a baked good and cup of cocoa.

“It’s really nice knowing that you can help people out, and it’s probably the thing that I’ll miss most being virtual, as I won’t really have an opportunity to talk with people,” Evan said.

Evan Greenberg first started the stand when he was five years hold, wanting to give hot cocoa to people who were cold in the winter. Meghan Hendricks | Staff Photographer

Josh typically helps out with front-end operations for the stand each year, while Evan works on the website, reaches out to donors and gets the press involved to spread the message.

This year, they have been relying on social media to get people involved, Josh said. And, even though this year is looking different, the support they’re receiving is unwavering. Brandon Silver, a longtime friend of Evan and fellow SU sophomore, attributes much of that to Evan’s marketing and networking abilities.

“Networking is huge for this just because for (the hot cocoa stand), for the raffle, you need to have prizes that are worth people paying money for, and so, he does a great job of reaching out to people and getting some great prizes,” Silver said.

Running the hot cocoa stand for so long has helped influence Josh’s future career choices. He said that it has pushed his knowledge and understanding of how the world works and taught him a lot about himself and how to make a difference.

Josh has become more interested in the business aspect of Evan & Joshua’s hot cocoa and wants to go into business to learn more about how to make their event even better.

The brothers first connected with the Pediatric Cancer Foundation through a friend’s mom in 2008. Selling hot cocoa and raising money for pediatric cancer is something Evan sees himself continuing to do for the foreseeable future and for as long as he can.

Josh agreed and said that this is something they hope to continue doing through college because, after so many years, it’s not something they’re willing to let go of.

“It’s a sense of pride each year, tons of joy that we get from it each year,” Josh said. “It’s become our tradition at this point.”

Published on April 20, 2021 at 9:55 pm

Contact Gavi: gavi@dailyorange.com | @gavi_azoff