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.
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