Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation first caught the attention of Volvo when Alexandra “Alex” Scott received an inaugural Volvo for Life award nomination. The award program honors hometown heroes doing extraordinary things in their communities. At nomination time, Alex had raised $45,000 for pediatric cancer-related research. Alex’s determination and unwavering support for pediatric cancer research earned her a Volvo for Life Award at the 2003 ceremony in New York City.
In 2004, Alex set a remarkable goal: call upon the nation to raise $1 million to fight pediatric cancer before the year’s end. Sadly, Alex passed away August 1 at the age of 8, having raised over $700,000, but before she died, Volvo made Alex a promise to help her raise the million dollars. To keep their promise they mobilized thousands of Volvo employees at dealerships nationwide to put their sales skills to the test — to sell lemonade for Alex. Their efforts were successful, resulting in hundreds of thousands raised to keep their promise.
Since then, Volvo, a founding sponsor of ALSF, has shown unwavering support for the cause, helping to keep the inspiration and legacy of Alex alive. Volvo created the Alexandra Scott Butterfly Award, a special Volvo for Life Award given to an exceptional child hero. Volvo is a key sponsor of several fundraising initiatives throughout the year, including: Presenting Sponsor of The Lemon Ball and Lemon Run; a sponsor of the Great Chefs Event, L.A. Loves Alex&rsquos Lemonade, The Great Chefs Event NYC, The Great Chefs Event Chicago and Alex’s “Original” Lemonade Stand events; a partner for The Million Mile; and a supporter of the Dollar for a Follow Twitter campaign. Volvo even donates a car to raffle off for ALSF! In addition, they remain committed to spreading awareness of ALSF through print ads in Money and Time magazines.
In order to help expand ALSF’s great work across the country, Volvo launched the first virtual lemonade stand to support the cause in 2008. Visitors could buy virtual lemonade and 100% of the proceeds went to fund pediatric cancer research.