Alexandra “Alex” Scott was just four years old when she announced that she wanted to have a lemonade stand to raise money to help find a cure for children diagnosed with cancer like herself.
Alex had neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nervous system that occurs in infants and young children. The foundation bearing her name has evolved into a national fundraising movement, complete with thousands of supporters across the country. Everyone involved with the foundation carries out Alex’s legacy of hope. Since Alex’s passing in 2004, the numbers have continued to grow and Alex’s Lemonade Stand is stronger than ever. To date, the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation has raised more than $50 million toward finding a cure and funding over 200 research projects nationally.
What does all of this have to do with Elizabethtown College? The paper lemons taped on the outside of the School Store are not just for decoration, but for Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Missy Cameron, Kelly Derbes and Melissa Nanna are three sophomore students who have chosen Alex’s Lemonade Stand as their apprentice project for their communications class.
They asked the school store for help and store director Susan Smith liked the idea and thought it was a great cause for which to raise money.
First, one makes a donation and then receives a lemon with his or her name on it to show support for Alex’s Lemonade Stand. The lemons are then stuck on the windows outside the school store. Cameron, Derbes and Nanna said they are surprised and pleased with the turnout and participation from the student body.
The reason the three chose this foundation over any other one is because they all have been affected by cancer, as they each know someone who has fought the disease. They all also really like the foundation and its purpose and wanted to help out. They all said they think this project reflects very well on the College.
“I think it is taking the Educate for Service motto and really putting it into the project,” Derbes said. “We really want to help people become aware of this foundation and gain some insight on what it stands for,” Nanna said. There is no doubt, that with tons of lemons popping up all over the place, people will start to ask questions.
Derbes, Nanna and Cameron really want the student body to get involved. They welcome questions and said they are willing to talk to people to explain what this cause is about. They also held a raffle at halftime of the Homecoming soccer game and said they are very pleased with the involvement so far and they really hope it continues.
One in 330 Americans develop cancer before the age of 20 and more than 12,000 children in the U.S. and over 200,000 worldwide develop cancer every year. Cancer is also the leading cause of death by disease in children under 15 in the U.S. and the second leading cause of death of all ages after accidents.
You can get involved by holding a lemonade stand or other fundraising event or by mail or online. You can also attend an Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation event or join them on their Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages. The work that Derbes, Nanna and Cameron are doing is not going unnoticed and they are part of an even bigger picture. “We hope the students of Elizabethtown College not only become more aware of the charity and cancer but we hope they can see that a small group of students can make an impact,” Cameron said.