The familiar and founding principle of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation is that when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. However, the foundation also operates under another especially important principle - that everyone, no matter how young or old, is capable of making a difference – including kids. We believe in kids helping kids, and since inception have seen the amazing spirit of kids who give back.
For us, this dates back to our own 4-year-old daughter Alex, who after battling cancer for nearly her entire life set out to hold a lemonade stand to help all kids with cancer. It was through Alex’s giving spirit and wild determination that she was so successful and raised over $1 million before passing away at the age of 8. Alex’s efforts were successful and we are so happy that Alex had a part in inspiring other children to follow in her footsteps by holding stands of their own. We also know that children are naturally inspired to be moved to do something good for others - they are moved by seeing others in need, they set their own goals, and they believe they can reach them!
We have seen this recently in the face of natural disaster. Often times the stories that make the news are those of celebrities banding together to fundraise for disaster relief. However, there is another type of story that often makes it to the airwaves because of its inspirational value– the story of children who have seen disaster on TV and want to do something about it. These children often use the resources they have at hand – sometimes it’s a lemonade stand (we love this!), sometimes it’s asking the local fire department to help with a coin drive, or other times it’s even arranging a fundraising day at school to help. There is no shortage of creative fundraising ideas when it comes to kids, and if you have ever had a child who wants to do something – you know you won’t hear the end of it until they do. This was true with Alex, when she got the idea into her head that she wanted to hold a lemonade stand to raise money for cancer, she didn’t stop talking about it until the day the stand arrived. Even then, she couldn’t stop talking about how great it was and how she couldn’t wait to have another one!
Perhaps we didn’t realize it until then, but we realize it now – kids are so important and vocal when it comes to giving back and making a difference. From 4-year-olds all the way through college students, like those at Penn State who created THON, kids are an imperative part of the change, and we are so thankful to count them as such an important part of our foundation. Thank you to all the kids in the world who are making a difference, you are the future, and we truly wouldn’t be here with out you.
Check out some other organizations started by kids that are making a difference on idealist.org.
- Liz & Jay Scott, Alex's parents
For us, this dates back to our own 4-year-old daughter Alex, who after battling cancer for nearly her entire life set out to hold a lemonade stand to help all kids with cancer. It was through Alex’s giving spirit and wild determination that she was so successful and raised over $1 million before passing away at the age of 8. Alex’s efforts were successful and we are so happy that Alex had a part in inspiring other children to follow in her footsteps by holding stands of their own. We also know that children are naturally inspired to be moved to do something good for others - they are moved by seeing others in need, they set their own goals, and they believe they can reach them!We have seen this recently in the face of natural disaster. Often times the stories that make the news are those of celebrities banding together to fundraise for disaster relief. However, there is another type of story that often makes it to the airwaves because of its inspirational value– the story of children who have seen disaster on TV and want to do something about it. These children often use the resources they have at hand – sometimes it’s a lemonade stand (we love this!), sometimes it’s asking the local fire department to help with a coin drive, or other times it’s even arranging a fundraising day at school to help. There is no shortage of creative fundraising ideas when it comes to kids, and if you have ever had a child who wants to do something – you know you won’t hear the end of it until they do. This was true with Alex, when she got the idea into her head that she wanted to hold a lemonade stand to raise money for cancer, she didn’t stop talking about it until the day the stand arrived. Even then, she couldn’t stop talking about how great it was and how she couldn’t wait to have another one!
Perhaps we didn’t realize it until then, but we realize it now – kids are so important and vocal when it comes to giving back and making a difference. From 4-year-olds all the way through college students, like those at Penn State who created THON, kids are an imperative part of the change, and we are so thankful to count them as such an important part of our foundation. Thank you to all the kids in the world who are making a difference, you are the future, and we truly wouldn’t be here with out you.Check out some other organizations started by kids that are making a difference on idealist.org.
- Liz & Jay Scott, Alex's parents
March 19, 2010
