Today, August 20, is National Lemonade Day – not to be confused with ALSF’s National Lemonade Days held annually in June. Today’s National Lemonade Day is more about recognizing/honoring the actual drink, while our Lemonade Days are about banding together as a country to honor our childhood cancer heroes and raise important funds for pediatric cancer research. That being said, we think today is as good a day as any to enjoy a cool glass of our favorite beverage, savor the remaining days of summer and support ALSF! Thanks to some of our great sponsors, it's easy to do through a number of ALSF promotions kicking off today:
- Auntie Anne’s – Purchase a $1 paper lemon at Auntie Anne’s benefiting ALSF and you’ll get a coupon for $1 off your next pretzel or beverage purchase. (Aug. 20-Oct. 6)
- California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) – Participating CPK locations will donate 100% of lemonade sales to the Foundation. (Aug. 20-24)
- Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market – Fresh & Easy stores will be donating 5% of the profits from the sale of their own branded lemonade as well as selling paper lemons in return for a $1 donation to ALSF. (Aug. 20-Sept. 4)
Speaking of our great partners…perhaps you had an opportunity to read Jay Scott’s Huffington Post blog last week explaining the importance and impact that our corporate partners have on our cause. Jay notes that companies do indeed fuel change and that although sometimes consumers may grow tired of the number of “asks” at the cash register, etc…that their support is vital to helping children with cancer. In addition, from high level executives to front line employees – corporate partnerships allow all members of the company to join together, get involved and be inspired to do good.
Case in point, Jeff Kaliner (founding partner of Power Home Remodeling Group), wrote the following blog detailing their first “Power Month for Alex’s” and the impact that it had on the employees, particularly one with a personal connection to childhood cancer.
Happy National Lemonade Day and thank you to all of our partners!
The First Annual “Power Month for Alex’s”
In 2011, we were given the opportunity to become a National Corporate Sponsor for ALSF, and since then have donated one dollar per window, per square foot of siding and per square foot of roofing installed throughout the year. After a year as a Corporate Sponsor we realized our employees were looking for more ways to get involved in the ALSF mission and fundraising effort. The result was “Power Month for Alex’s,” a company-wide, month-long initiative aimed at raising money and awareness while further engaging our employees. On June 1,we embarked on our first annual Power Month with our 1,200 employees in each of our eight markets.
From hosting lemonade stands in the office and at home, to volunteering at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, devoting an entire month to the cause was a great opportunity for all of us to further engage with this mission and grow as professionals by helping raise awareness of pediatric cancer and bringing Alex's incredible and courageous story into new communities across the country.
Power Month meant a lot to our employees. For example, Power’s own Mike DiPietro reached out to tell me how much he appreciates the direct impact our work with Alex’s has on saving the lives of children. Mike’s younger brother Greg had Lymphoma B of the intestine. Even though he got better, he then developed Leukemia of the Bone Marrow. He’s now 10 years in remission and Mike thanks organizations like Alex’s — and companies and individuals that stand behind them to donate money for research — for helping his brother be here with us today.
We are extremely proud of our employees for embracing the ALSF cause by devoting so much time and energy to make a difference through their participation in Power Month for Alex’s. From our employees in Melville, NY, who raised over $1,350 through their office lemonade stand, to the top producers in our Chester, PA office who spent their free time hosting stands during weekends in June — our remarkable employees really banded together to spread Alex’s story to customers in all eight of the markets we do business.
Thanks to the support and hard work of our employees, we’re happy to share that we raised $13,050 during “Power Month” and are on track to meet our goal of donating $300,000 to ALSF this fiscal year. The awareness we raised of ALSF through “Power Month” will make a significant impact on the health of our program in the future. Awareness of the organization’s mission is equally important as the amount of money raised in search of a cure for pediatric cancer. Our network is expansive, and we will continue to spread the word through as many channels as possible.
August 20, 2012
