A Drag Race to Remember

Over the course of my several years of working for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, I have had the opportunity to travel to a countless number of lemonade stands and events. They have all been unique and inspiring, but I have to say that attending the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver, Colorado July 22-24, 2011 was certainly a one-of-a-kind experience.

Having been invited to attend the competition by TBC Retail Group, a long-time sponsor of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, I arrived in Denver on Thursday, July 21, just in time to visit The Children’s Hospital in Aurora. It was there that I would first meet Johnny Gray, the driver of the “Lemonator” Funny Car. Johnny’s car, which is sponsored by TBC, is decked out in an ALSF design that was voted on by fans on facebook. Though I confess to not knowing much about the drag racing world, it was an honor to meet Johnny and I soon learned of not only his generosity, but the generosity of the entire team which included Shane Gray (Johnny’s son) and Dom Lagana. Thus began my adventure into the NHRA world.

I should also mention that TBC has been supporting ALSF throughout the entire month of July with a grassroots fundraising effort in their stores across the country. Many have held lemonade stands, and TBC is matching up to $25,000 during its Text to Donate campaign.

On Friday, it was on to the Bandimere Speedway where I would be immersed in the world of drag racing, as well as a sea of ALSF signs urging fans to text Cancer TBC to 85944 to make a $5 donation. It was amazing to see how the racing community embraced the battle against childhood cancer, and I’m pretty sure that whether you were a fan of Johnny Gray or not, you were routing for his “Lemonator” Funny Car all weekend.

For me, the support of the racing community was inspiring and with the ALSF branding everywhere I’m sure we garnered new supporters last weekend. I have to say that the most surprising, and perhaps even my favorite part of my visit though was when I had the opportunity to stand at the starting line for one of Johnny’s trials. To say that I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to experience is an understatement. When Johnny and his opponent’s cars took off from the finish line, the excitement was palpable – literally, my body shook as the cars sped down the track. I was told afterward that standing on the starting line is equal to feeling an earthquake with a 3.5 magnitude.



Soon, the weekend would come to a close and I was back on the plane to Philadelphia, left with an experience that I would never forget. In fact, I had such a great time, I’m looking forward to doing it all over again when Johnny and the entire TBC team come to Reading in September for the Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to experience everything all over again, and having the opportunity to invite some of our supporters to join me!

Stay tuned for more details.

We Mean It!

"I'm proud that a lot of kids are helping other kids with cancer by raising money for Alex's Lemonade Stand and giving it to Doctors to help them find cures. I like speaking to people and visiting stands because it lets everyone know how wonderful Alex's is."

- Charlotte McAuliffe, 9-years-old
Brain Tumor Survivor

To coincide with our most recent e-newsletter, we wanted to take some time out to reflect on the reasons why Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation exists – to find cures for all kids with cancer. When we say our ultimate goal is to put ALSF out of business, we mean it! While we take pride in knowing that we are making a difference in the lives of all children battling cancer each and every day, we can think of no better day when we close our doors because all kids with cancer are cured!

In that regard, we are so honored that all of our volunteers, sponsors and supporters everywhere are helping us take strides to do just that. As our founder, Alexandra “Alex” Scott knew when she opened her very first front yard lemonade stand, every single donation counts! When we receive funds from a lemonade stand, an event, a text or a donation online, we use that money to fund research to help children and their families battling childhood cancer.

We hope you will take a few minutes out of your day today to view our video “We Mean It!” This video proves that each and every fundraiser and donation makes a difference and gets us closer to our ultimate goal – to help children facing cancer.



Thank you for your continued support and for joining us on our quest to find a cure for all kids with cancer!

The Lemon Run Runs On…To Two New Cities!

At Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, we are always looking for ways to reach new audiences and expand our quest to find a cure for all childhood cancers. Our foray into running events was one of those new ventures that literally took steps to reach a new and (athletic) audience in 2009. After much success, and two annual events in Philadelphia, we are pleased to say that The Lemon Run will run into Kansas City and San Diego in 2011, and of course the Philly event will also return this fall.

Kicking off the fall of festive runs will be the Max’s Ring of Fire Lemon Run in San Diego on Sunday, September 25, 2011. You may be wondering, why is the San Diego version of our run entitled the Max’s Ring of Fire Lemon Run? Well, if you live in the San Diego area, you may be familiar with the charity Max’s Ring of Fire, or MROF. Like our foundation, MROF was started by the parents of a young childhood cancer fighter. Andy and Melissa Mikulak started the nonprofit to honor of their late son Max, a courageous inspiration who was diagnosed with the disease at the age of three and battled hard for four years until the age of seven. Their foundation is now dedicated to working with cancer researchers and oncologists to speed up discoveries of potentially life-saving new drugs for children with relapsed neuroblastoma to find innovative, low toxicity, treatments through funding of clinical trials and other research. After holding their own run in San Diego in years past, we decided to team up to host the Max’s Ring of Fire Lemon Run this year! This run is a bit longer than the Philadelphia event, seeing participants run or walk 4.6 miles! We hope to gather together supporters of the childhood cancer community, both of MROF and ALSF - if you’re in the area, we hope you will join us too!

Next up will be the 5K Lemon Run Kansas City, slated for October 2, 2011 in Waterfall Park in Independence, Missouri. The Kansas City community has been integral to the success of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, supporting the foundation dating back to Alex’s million dollar mission in 2004. Since that time, the Kansas City Grand Stand has been among the top fundraisers, coming in second for Grand Stand fundraising overall, only behind Alex’s “Original” Lemonade Stand. We are excited to engage the KC community with this Lemon Run 5K, and are sure that KC athletes and supporters alike will get behind it.

Finally, The Lemon Run will return to its home, Philadelphia, on November 13, 2011. We are looking forward to having the best year yet and returning to Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park.

For those athletes who are not in the San Diego, Kansas City or Philadelphia areas, you can always join us on these days as a virtual runner in your neighborhood. Just pick a course of equal distance, sign up, fundraise, and know that you will be running with other ALSF supporters that day. You can also join Team Lemon and run in area events in support of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation!

>> Learn how to train for a 5K here!

Of course, in addition to raising funds and awareness for childhood cancer, all of the Lemon Runs are a great way to get your family and friends involved in a team effort. Funds are raised just from signing up and running the race, but why not honor a childhood cancer fighter, or family member who battled cancer by raising funds in their name? You could also challenge family members or even coworkers to do the same! Maybe even approach someone who would never consider running in a race, and make it a friendly competition. The most important thing to remember is that big things start with small actions, involving your friends and family can turn your individual effort into a team effort!

We are excited to expand out athletic events, and the Lemon Run is just the beginning. Why not battle childhood cancer and get healthy too!