Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer

www.ShawneeDispatch.com
By Ashlee Kieler
10/6/10

Fifty cents went a long way when it came to the Prairie Ridge Elementary School third grade lemonade stand Friday.

The students sold lemonade and cookies for 50 cents apiece during recess and lunch periods on Friday to raise a total of $1,303 for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

Alex’s Lemonade Stand raises funds to find a cure for childhood cancer. The foundation is named for Alexandra “Alex” Scott who started selling lemonade in her front yard after being diagnosed with cancer. Alex passed away in 2004, but her lemonade stands pop up across the country to raise money to find a cure.

Prairie Ridge third graders ran with the theme “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” to learn about childhood cancer, empathy and how they each have the power to make a difference by overcoming obstacles they face in life, said Brandi Leggett, third grade teacher.

One third-grader was able to share his personal battle with classmates.

Cade Stapp was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 2006.

“When I had cancer it was hard,” he said. “I had a tumor the size of a softball in my chest.”

After chemotherapy treatment, stem cell treatments and antibody treatments, Cade no longer shows any evidence of the disease, said Colby Stapp, Cade’s father.

“I think the fund was cool,” Cade said. “It’s neat they were raising money for hospitals so that scientists can find a cure for cancer.”

Rylee McElroy, third-grader, helped run the cash register during the lemonade stand.

“We raised so much money the cash register fell off the table,” she said. “It made me feel really cool and special to help. Cancer is something that’s really hard to get through, it’s not just a cough that goes away.”

Camryn Vitt, third-grader, said a lot of parents and students showed up to donate money.

“There was a huge line,” she said. “I was surprised by how many people came out.”

Josh Gomez, third-grader, said the class prepared for the lemonade stand by watching a movie about Alex and reading a book.

“Her goal was to raise $1 million and she did before she passed away,” he said.

Camryn said working together as a group showed how much students could really do.

“It’s hard to do yourself,” she said. “But together we all worked really hard. Everyone worked at least 15 minutes. When the whole grade does it it’s a lot easier to raise money. And when some people gave money for their lemonade they just said ‘keep the change.’”

Colby Stapp said because of organizations like Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation the antibody treatment Cade underwent is being approved for use with other children.

“I don’t think we have enough of them (organizations to cure cancer),” he said. “They help people when they can’t help themselves. You’re just one person, you can only get so much done. When you have people helping and bringing recognition to that cause it helps so much more.”

Cade was thankful for the Prairie Ridge fundraiser, although he hasn’t shown signs of neuroblastoma since 2008.

“If we never did this then everyone with cancer would not survive and I’d probably be dead right now,” he said.