Join Childhood Cancer Families, Researchers and Supporters Running, Walking and Riding One Million Miles During Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Alex’s Million Mile – Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation’s Signature Childhood Cancer Awareness Month Event Starts September 1.

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to finding cures for all kids with cancer, challenges supporters everywhere to go the distance in September for Alex’s Million Mile 2016 (AMM). Returning for its fourth year during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, AMM participants will collectively run, walk and/or ride one million miles to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer research. Last year, more than 15,000 participants logged over 963,000 miles in 24 different countries on 6 continents. Since its inception, AMM has raised over $1.8 million.

Individuals and teams who participate can log as many or as few miles as their ability allows, with each mile contributing to the collective million miles goal. Animal lovers rejoice – your four-legged friend’s miles count, too. So, don’t forget to add your dog or cat to your AMM team. Miles can be logged manually or by using MapMyFitness, Fitbit or Strava apps starting September 1. The event is free to participants, but fundraising is encouraged and can start as soon as participants register.

Participants can create their own team or search the AMM website for a variety of teams to join, based on location, childhood cancer types or teams led by ALSF researchers. New this year, childhood cancer teams allow participants to join a team for a specific type of childhood cancer and the money raised on that team will fund research projects for that particular cancer. Again this year, ALSF researchers who lead their own teams can raise money for their own projects and have up to $25,000 matched by the Foundation.

“I am currently supported by ALSF as a Young Investigator and want to ‘give back’ to the organization by contributing myself,” said Elliot Stieglitz, MD, of University of California San Francisco. “I also view it as a mechanism to incorporate my friends and family into the fight against cancer. Several people I know who might not otherwise have an outlet that allows them to directly contribute to pediatric cancer research have used this as an opportunity to get involved.”

Once participants create their own or join teams, there are plenty of ways to log miles and raise money. Individuals and teams looking to log their first mile can join First Mile events on September 1. A list of First Mile events is available on AlexsMillionMile.org. More ideas to help participants achieve their mileage goals are available on AlexsLemonade.org/blog.

Although fundraising is not mandatory, AMM participants are encouraged to raise money while logging miles and raising awareness for childhood cancer. Many teams hold traditional lemonade stands and bake sales, but individuals and team can be as creative as possible because every dollar counts towards finding cures for all kids with cancer.

Participants can show support through social media utilizing #Journey2aMillion. To register for Alex’s Million Mile and get more ideas to help you reach your mileage and fundraising goals, visit AlexsMillionMile.org.