The Family Foundation Based out of Virginia Grants ALSF $75,000 with the Goal of Curing the Incurable

Bala Cynwyd, PA – Kate’s Cause, a childhood cancer foundation based out of Herndon, Virginia, has donated $75,000 to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) to co-fund cutting-edge research by Dr. Yael Mossé, MD, of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Kate’s Cause and ALSF share a vision of funding high impact childhood cancer research to find cures for hard-to-treat childhood cancers. 

Kate’s Cause was founded by Mike and Lindsay Rhoades after Kate Olivia Rhoades passed away from childhood cancer at the tender age of 4. Kate had recently turned 2 when she was diagnosed with high-risk pre-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Pre-B ALL). After just over two years, Kate finished treatment and showed no evidence of disease. Kate and her family lived life to the fullest for four months. On January 11, 2016, Kate relapsed. She died just 15 hours later. When she passed, her family promised that her death would not be in vain and launched the cause in her honor to accomplish three goals: Raise awareness, raise funds, and give back to the pediatric cancer community.

“I found all the projects very intriguing, but this project spoke to me as I felt it had a direct path to drug development and use in clinical trials which would bring it to the children that most need these new drugs - to help cure previously incurable disease,” said Robin Dulman, Kate’s pediatric oncologist.

Kate’s Cause is funding Dr. Mossé’s Crazy 8 Award, titled Targeting MYCN. Dr. Mossé’s goal is to develop targeted drugs for MYCN, a currently “undruggable” driver of pediatric cancer, within the next four years. Dr. Mossé brought together a team of complementary researchers, each with unique experience to attack MYCN with innovative new technologies. Together, they will prove that the drugs they’re developing are effective against most lethal pediatric cancers and be ready to launch a clinical trial shortly after the grant is completed in Spring 2025.

“We are now poised to deliver on the Holy Grail of pediatric cancer and that is to develop a drug that will allow for MYCN to degrade in a cancer cell and directly impact patients with MYCN-driven childhood cancers,” said Dr. Mossé.

For more information about Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation’s charity partnerships, visit AlexsLemonade.org/About/Charity-Collaborators.

About Kate’s Cause

Kate’s Cause was formed after Kate Olivia Rhoades passed away from childhood cancer at the tender age of four. After she passed, her family promised that her death would not be in vain and launched the cause in her honor and memory to accomplish three goals: Raise awareness, raise funds, and give back to the pediatric cancer community. You can learn more about Kate’s Cause on their website, KatesCause.com.

About Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation

Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) emerged from the front yard lemonade stand of cancer patient Alexandra “Alex” Scott (1996-2004). In 2000, 4-year-old Alex announced that she wanted to hold a lemonade stand to raise money to help find a cure for all children with cancer. Since Alex held that first stand, the Foundation bearing her name has evolved into a national fundraising movement, complete with thousands of supporters across the country carrying on her legacy of hope. To date, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a registered 501(c)3 charity, has raised over $200 million toward fulfilling Alex’s dream of finding a cure, funding over 1,000 pediatric cancer research projects nationally. For more information on Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, visit AlexsLemonade.org.

About the Crazy 8 Initiative

In the spirit of growing scientific collaboration, ALSF launched the Crazy 8 Initiative to detail roadmaps toward cures for specific, hard-to-treat childhood cancers. In addition to its current grant opportunities, the Crazy 8 Initiative creates a new funding pillar for ALSF, allowing the Foundation to tackle explicit challenges in pediatric cancer research that require substantial support for collaborative teams. The Crazy 8 Initiative funds research into innovative and rigorous approaches that directly address the most intractable issues in pediatric cancer research today. The Crazy 8 Initiative Award is designed to coalesce cross-disciplinary cores of scientists working collaboratively in order to accelerate the pace of new cure discovery, and these grants provide funding for large-scale collaborative projects in the $1-5 million range. ALSF has committed $25 million to support the Crazy 8 Initiative. For information on the awarded Crazy 8 projects, visit AlexsLemonade.org/Crazy-8-Initiative-Projects.