Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation

By CHRISTINA HOWERTON, The Daily News
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Bowling Green’s Alex’s Lemonade Stand Day has attracted attention from the national foundation.

Jennifer Kelly, fundraising specialist for the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer, said she’ll be in Bowling Green on Saturday to check out the local event, as it rates in the top 100 of cities that participate.

Lemonade stands will be open all day Saturday in different neighborhoods, and the Miller family will host the “Grandstand” from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Simpson and Compton Orthodontist at 1030 U.S. 31-W By-Pass, according to Carol Miller.

She said lemonade is free, but they will accept donations.

The Grandstand will include games such as a dunking booth and corn hole, face painting, a raffle and food.

Fifteen-year-old Riley Miller and her Bowling Green family started hosting the event in 2005 after losing two brothers to a rare genetic cancer. Since then, the event has grown from one lemonade stand to 30.

She said she learned about the foundation when her little brother was in a Philadelphia hospital with Alex Scott, who started the fundraiser for cancer research in 2000 and died in 2004 from cancer.

Riley Miller said she wanted to help, too.

“So, I called a bunch of my friends and asked if they wanted to help, and word kept spreading about it,” she said.

The Miller’s stand raised about $1,300 the first year.

Carol Miller said the event has grown because more families are affected by childhood cancer each year.

Now, about 200 people volunteer at the event, Riley Miller said. The Bowling Green stands have raised about $70,000 since 2005.

“It’s gotten easier each year we’ve done it, and the same people help each year,” she said.

Kelly, who oversees stands in the southern part of the U.S. including Tennessee and Kentucky, said she was surprised at how organized and successful Riley Miller has been with planning and keeping the fundraiser growing in Bowling Green.

“I thought, ‘At 15, I was not that well put together,’ ” she said.

Kelly said the foundation usually focuses on areas where there is a children’s hospital that treats cancer nearby.

The foundation has given Vanderbilt University Medical Center about $660,000 since 2006, said Lisa Towry, the foundation’s grant manager. That money goes toward lab research and clinical trials for children with cancer.

“They would obviously benefit the kids of Bowling Green down the road if they’re successful,” she said.

Carol Miller said her family hopes to raise at least $18,000 on Saturday.

They raised about $23,000 last year, but she said she thinks they’ll raise less this year because of the economy.

— For more information about Alex’s Lemonade Stand Day, local stands or the foundation, visit www.alexslemonade.org.