by Trish Adkins, ALSF

The first day of school is almost here! And while summer days are winding down, the fall is the perfect time to join Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) in the fight against childhood cancer. We know firsthand how amazing kids are at helping kids. Our founder, Alex Scott, was just a young girl when she held her first lemonade stand. Kids everywhere joined her call-to-action and now, ALSF is more than an organization, it’s a global movement to cure childhood cancer! 

Here are some great ways you can bring some lemonade back to school with you this fall!

1. Be Bold and Go Gold! During September, Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, join ALSF for Alex’s Million Mile, a month long fundraising and awareness-raising challenge! Students, teachers and their families log miles that they run, walk and ride throughout the month of September helping ALSF get to 1 million miles. Schools can also host lemonade stands and fundraise to help ALSF raise $1 million! Alex’s Million Mile is a great way to boost your school’s physical education program while helping other kids!  

2. Kick-It! New this year, Kick-It is a program that helps kick cancer out of children's lives! Your school district or school can plan a kickball tournament to benefit ALSF. Or encourage your student athletes to become Kick-It Champions and dedicate their season's stats to finding cures for childhood cancer. Learn more about Kick-It here.

3. Sweeten Your Lesson Plans. ALSF has several lesson plans for students of all ages. Plans include lessons in math, literacy and science. One of our favorites—the Lemon Juice Properties Lab—is a fun lesson plan for art or science classes! Check out all of our lesson plans here. 

4. Plan a Lemonade Stand. There is never a bad time of year to plan a lemonade stand! Parent-Teacher organizations can plan lemonade stands for Back-to-School night. Students can host a lemonade stand at your high school’s football games! Now is a great time to plan lemonade stands for later in the year and get your big event on the school calendar! 

5. Declare a Lemonade War. This contest, inspired by the book The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies, challenges schools to compete against each other to determine who can raise the most money through a lemonade stand project or another type of event. Sign up now for the start of the spring 2018 lemonade war!

6. Ask-a-Researcher. Plan a school-wide lemonade stand and use it as an opportunity to have your students explore careers as scientists and researchers. Schools who host lemonade stands have the opportunity to submit questions to a childhood cancer researcher and have a special video chat or recording made with a researcher!

Want more fun ideas to get your school engaged in kid-driven community service? Head over to our Schools section of the website for more great printable activities, lesson plans and ideas for students of all ages. Have specific questions, contact Ellie Paparone.