On Labor day weekend our children wanted to set up a lemonade stand.  Our beach home in Spring Lake NJ does not see too much traffic- foot or car- so we decided to bring the lemonade stand to the people!  We took out our 50 yr old tricycle, packed up all the necessities and off we went!   The girls raised over $90 in 1 1/2 hours.  They already had almost $60 saved for charity and mom and dad matched their efforts!  We were able to donate over $300 to your foundation.  They were so proud!!

-Frank and Nancy De Maria

Striving to raise money and awareness for a novel cause, the Dragon Boat team at the University of Southern California searched for a charity that was humanely inspiring and creative in its objective.  As I finished watching a CBS documentary about young Alexandra Scott and her simple yet far-reaching dream to raise money for pediatric cancer research, I knew I had discovered the perfect foundation.  The story uplifted my spirits, and upon translating the account to my teammates, we collectively agreed that other students would be motivated to continue her fight as well.  So in the urban heart of Los Angeles at USC, the team constructed a lemonade stand that revived memories of a youthful, innocent past.  There was an immediate "neighborhood" feeling as students swarmed the tent to inquire about the charity.  Some students even exclaimed in excitement that they witnessed the documentary on TV as well and can now support the foundation in person.  At the conclusion of the event, the team was able to collect $200 within a few hours, which was more than what I would have imagined given our brief reservation time on campus.  But if anything, I was again reminded that with an ambitious vision, sometimes the end result will exceed even one's own lofty expectations.  USC Dragon Boat was proud to host ALSF to fight childhood cancer, one cup at a time!  Fight On!

Brian Nguyen & The USC Dragon Boat Team

We held our 2nd Alex’s stand yesterday in the rain, and our two little guys have an amazing total. (for 2,  6 year olds in there own frontyards, off the beaten path)  We still have a few checks that we were told will be in the mail, so as soon as we get them, we will send it all to you.  So far their total is a little over $700.00  They are very proud…We had a blast and can't wait to hold another one in the spring. In the meantime, I may bring it up at school and maybe our elementary school can do something as well this year.

-Vickie McGowan

I am 16 years old and race a minicup car. It is basically a 1/2 scale version of the nascar nextel cup cars you see on TV. This is my rookie year in this type of car. I have won 1 race so far and have finished in the top 5 every race this year. I'm second in the points series and hopefully will win the rookie of the year title. I race at Seekonk Speedway in Massachusetts every Friday night in front of approximately 1000 - 1500 fans. Alex's lemonade Stand is mentioned most nights over the PA system, which I am proud to represent. My dad is the crew chief and works on the car for me. We bring the car to shows in our area. One of the pictures I sent was at a show where Jeff Gordon's car was being displayed. We were parked right beside his car and had a ton of exposure. I first learned of ALSF through my dad, who is the facilities manager at Stacy's Pita Chip Co. in Randolph Ma. After reading Alex's story, I felt as though I wanted to contribute some way to such a great cause. I thought, having Alex's logo on my car would be a unique way to doing it. Thanks to all the people at Alex's for allowing me to change the "tag line" to "fighting childhood cancer one lap at a time" You can visit my website at www.igoracing.com for additional information on the car and my racing background. We also have a link to ALSF on our site.

- Chris Igo Jr.

Our granddaughter Izzy spent time during her birthday party raising money for Alex.  She is only three years old, but, understood that the money she raised, was going to "help the kids who are sick.”  When a guest or customer would give her money, and tell her if they wanted a large or small lemonade, she would respond with "Thank you for helping the kids who are sick".... 
A wonderful time was had, and she could not of pulled off her birthday wish without the help of her cousins and buddies.

-Izzy's Grandmother

My 9yr. old son Bryce hosted his stand on Aug. 1.  We started at 7am and ended at 8:30pm.  It was an amazing day with lots of amazing things happening.  We were featured on 3 television stations, 3 radio stations came out, and stories in 3 local newspapers.  Three is a good number because when it was all said and done we raised $3752.31!!!  This was our 2nd annual stand with last year totaling $1766.25.  The Scott family and foundation are always in our prayers and we are dedicated to working hard to make our stand bigger and better every year.  We dedicate our stand to T.J. McKee.  Eleven years ago at age 6 he too lost his battle to neuroblastoma.  After watching a story about Alex last year Bryce decided he wanted to host one.  We were very proud of him and picked Aug. 1 as our date not knowing at the time that was the anniversary of her death, how ironic.

Alot of amazing things happened on Aug. 1 but two I would like to share with you.  Late in the afternoon a gentleman showed up at the stand dripping wet.  He proceeded to tell us that he had walked about 20 miles to visit the stand.  He told us he was diabetic and had no money to donate but he wanted to come out and give my son some gifts and told him he was a true inspiration and role model.  We gave that man a huge cup of ice water.  He did get a ride home later that evening.  The other story was of a couple that also came from about 25 minutes away, they drove though.  They spoke to me and told me that they were familiar with the foundation as they had been interviewed for one of the documentaries.  Unfortunately I knew what they were going to say next.  They lost their daughter Ella last year at age 8 to neuroblastoma.  At our stand this year we also had raffle baskets and that couple won the Alex's Lemonade Stand basket, there's no doubt in my mind that little Ella herself hand picked that ticket.  So tonight when you go to bed, if you are fortunate enough, take a long look at your children and say a special prayer for Alex, T.J., and Ella.

To anyone that is thinking about hosting a stand I strongly encourage it.  It's a blast, you meet so many people, and everyone has a different story.  Here's a special shout out to the mid-west there aren't many stands held in our area.  I personally challenge you to HOLD AN ALEX'S LEMONADE STAND.  You will have a blast and be hooked to do it every year.

Thank-you to all the staff at ALSF for all the dedication and hard work.  You are all very special people.  We will continue to do our part in the fight to cure childhood cancer, as you say, one cup at a time.

Sincerely,

Laura Tosi and Bryce Kelly

"Wow! What an experience we had yesterday! My friends and I had an Alex’s Lemonade Stand for part of my birthday party.  We had 2 stands, one on either side of Winnetka.  I don’t think that my friends or I will ever forget this experience.  We got on the front page of the local newspaper, we met nice people, we spread the word about a wonderful charity, we had a goal, and then surpassed it.  Our goal was $1,500.  I was preparing myself for us to be a little short, since 1500 is such a big number. But we did it. We raised over $1,900. I couldn’t believe it. When we counted the money, we jumped around my house screaming, “We did it!” and then we ran outside around the block, all in our Alex’s shirts, and no shoes.  When we set up, there were people waiting for us, to give us $150. A lot of people seemed interested in the cause, and it was great to see so many people get touched by this story. So thanks ALSF, and most of all thanks Alex, for an unforgettable experience." 

-Love, Selena and Friends

Above: The Stock's stand at Lowes in June

Above and Below: The Stock family on vacation in Florida

"When our daughter was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 1999 we had no idea what was ahead of us.  Riley was dx at 6 wks. old with stage IVs.  We were definitely the lucky ones.  After a year of treatment she was declared NED.  A few years later I decided to search the internet for other survivors.  I happened upon the website ACOR.  I “met” many families still in the fight of their lives.  Sadly, not many fellow survivors at all.  This is where I first read about Alex and her family.  Shortly thereafter I saw Alex and her family on tv.  The next year we decided to do a lemonade stand.  We decided it was time for us to help other kids reach and remain NED as Riley had done.

For 3 years now, we have done our stand at Lowes.  It has turned out to be a great location!  Who doesn’t go to Lowes on Saturdays in the summer??  We have many wonderful friends that come out to lend a hand.  Each year our volunteer list grows.  The word is definitely getting out.  Many people are starting to realize the tremendous need for research and it is all thanks to Alex’s Lemonade Stand!

Just recently we vacationed in Florida with some good friends of ours who were a huge help to us on the day of our stand.  We all brought our ALSF t-shirts and were able to get some really great shots on the beach!  The kids had a great time and it was awesome to see all that yellow against the beautiful green water.

We will continue to have our lemonade stands and now with our most recent tradition started, we will continue to bring our t-shirts on our vacations!

Thank you so much for all the work you all do in the fight against childhood cancer!"

-Lori Stock and family

     “My wife ,Brenda and I opened our Rita's Water Ice store in July of 2004. We were introduced to Jay and Liz and our Annual Business meeting in February of 2006, when Rita's became a corporate sponsor of Alex's Lemonade Stand. They told the story to all the Franchisees of how Alex started with a small lemonade stand in their front yard in Connecticut. When they were finished, I don't think there was a dry eye in the room. At the time Liz had a shaved head and explained that she had done this to support a head shaving fundraiser. This is what gave me the idea for our fundraiser. After the meeting I introduced my wife and myself to Jay and Liz and asked if they make public appearances. Of course their answer was yes, so we invited them to our store that year for what is becoming an annual event. That year we had 23 people come out to get their heads shaved, including myself, and support Alex's Lemonade Stand. That number also included 6 people by the name of Alex, one of who is our son.
     This year we held our 2nd annual head shaving event on July 22, 2007. We do this in conjunction with  Alex's Lemonade month at Rita's Water Ice. Jay and Liz were kind enough to again visit our store and support this event. This year we had over 30 participants including our first female. The head shaving was done by Michelle's Hair Designs. They donated their time and equipment to us. We also have paper lemons for a $1.00 donation, we have specials every day for Alex's Lemonade water ice, and we have our own lemonade stand at the store. The paper lemons hang inside our store on our Wall of Hope. To date we have raised over $2500.00 and still counting. We have plans this weekend for a dunking booth at the store if the weather cooperates. Our guests will donate $1.00 for a shot to dunk us. If they dunk us they will receive a free water ice. I hope I didn't go on too long, but this is truly an amazing story and an even more amazing charity. We hope to be involved with this foundation for many years to come. Someday there will be a cure for childhood cancer, but it could not be done without people like Jay and Liz, and of course not without the foresight of a little girls dream. This proves that dreams do come true. We never met Alex, but it is obvious to us that she was an angel!"

-Parrish and Brenda Stauffer-Rita's Water Ice

Above: The Children's Sermon

Above: Kean & Keshawn make first donation of 2007 to Alex's Lemonade Stand

"This will be the third year that Zion Lutheran Church in North Manchester, IN has sponsored Alex's Lemonade Stand. In order to market our stand to its fullest potential in our small community, we decided to take advantage of the yearly Fun Fest that is held every August for 3 days, 

About a month before the festival, we have a Lemonade Sunday brunch at church, requesting that people bring a dish that has lemons in the ingredients. We set up our lemonade stand in the fellowship hall and ask that people sign up for a 3-hour time slot to help out at the booth during the festival.  During the church service, we dedicate the children's sermon to reading the story of Alex and giving each child a lemon to take home, but this year that sermon impacted two little boys and their friends more than we had anticipated. Their act of kindness prompted me to send this story to you for your featured stands section.

The Saturday before Lemonade Sunday, a group of kids decided they wanted to serenade their neighborhood; they went house to house, playing harmonicas and singing.  They started getting money from the adults listening to them and at the end of their "tour" they talked about giving it to a charity, or even splitting the money and spending it on themselves, but as of Sunday morning, a decision had not been made.  When Kean and Keshawn went home after church, they explained to their grandmother they wanted to give the money to the Lemonade Stand, so they contacted their neighborhood friends as to how they felt - it was unanimous that the money should be given to Alex's.
As our committee was cleaning up after the brunch, these two little fellows walked into the kitchen with a paper cup and hugh grins on their faces.  They told us what had happened and proudly presented us with a donation of $8.00.  This donation meant so much to us, because it was absolute evidence that children truly give out of unselfishness and it also proved that they had gotten the message out of the sermon.  That is a dream come true for any pastor, let alone, a lemonade committee!"

-Sylvia Thomas