Behind each cup of lemonade from The Lemon Club is Sacred Heart students’ fight against pediatric cancer.
An inspiring message from the catalyst for the ALSF, Alex Scott.
| Colin McPherson, Staff Photographer and Writer |
The Lemon Club is part of a larger organization called Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) for Childhood Cancer. The foundation is named after Connecticut native Alexandra “Alex” Scott, who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a form of cancer, before her first birthday. She raised over $2,000 dollars for childhood cancer at her backyard lemonade stand at the age of four, and had raised over a million dollars by the time of her death in 2004, according to the ALSF website.
ALSF provides funding for cancer research as well as helping individual families who have children struggling with cancer.
On Thursday, Sept. 24, the Lemon Club ran a lemonade stand for the benefit of ALSF. There, they sold juice pouches of lemonade for $1. Lemonade, however, was not the only thing on sale. Also available were rubber bracelets for $2, string bracelets for $5, T-shirts for $15 and a cup combo, which included a lemonade, a bracelet and a cup, for $12. The proceeds went directly to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.
While some people passed by the stand, others were drawn in by Ledley and senior Ella Wickham calling out that the money goes directly to helping the fight against pediatric cancer. In some cases, people went to get their wallets and then came back to support the cause and buy some merchandise.
“It’s really heartwarming honestly. It’s good that we do things other than focusing on our own education,” said sophomore Jenna Wright, who was touched by the Sacred Heart community’s ability to gather around an issue such as pediatric cancer.
For the students of the Lemon Club, giving back is not just a nice thing to do when you can; it is part of their routine. Junior Meghan Ledley has been a member of the club since her freshman year and is now serving as the Lemon Club treasurer.
“I want to help kids. I’ve always loved kids. I want to be able to make a difference,” said Ledley.
Ledley is currently studying to become a pediatric physician assistant, making the Lemon Club’s influence especially meaningful for her.
“It just hits deeper, knowing that the kids are being affected like that,” said Jonah Lavallee, a freshman who stopped by the stand and spoke about the club and its mission.
“ALSF believes that high school and college students play a vital role in helping bring awareness and attention to the cause of childhood cancer,” according to the ALSF website.
Moreover, ALSF lists Sacred Heart as one of its recent top donors among high schools and universities, with over $2,000 donated, on their website.
