Small sales boost big agenda

Children help combat childhood cancer selling lemonade by the cup, By Eileen Stanbridge Sussex — Back to School Night is a busy night for any school, but on Sept. 22, it was particularly busy at Sussex Middle School. Parents followed their children’s schedules and went from classroom to classroom to meet the teachers. As each set of parents found themselves at the “lunch” period they were directed to the cafeteria for refreshments and given the opportunity to join in an effort to battle against childhood cancer. The school’s Builders Club and the Sussex Kiwanis hosted an Alex’s Lemonade Stand, which took place during the school day and continued into the evening for Back to School Night. Faculty Advisor Mary Eileen Schoen was inspired to get involved with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation after seeing a story on Alexandra “Alex” Scott at Foundation for a Better Life’s Web site Values.com. “Over a year ago I was travelling and saw a billboard with a picture of Jackie Robinson that said, ‘Character.’ He is one of my all-time heroes so I tried to find out where it came from without any luck,” said Schoen. “Then this past Memorial Day I travelled through Vermont and to Montreal, Canada, and saw several different ones. I finally found out that they are from Foundation for a Better Life at www.values.com. In looking through that site I came across the story of Alex’s Lemonade Stand and decided it was something that Builders Club here at the school could do,” she said. A child’s idea Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) emerged from the front yard lemonade stand of cancer patient Alexandra “Alex” Scott (1996-2004). At the age of 4, she announced that she wanted to have a lemonade stand to raise money to help find a cure for all children with cancer. Since then, the Foundation bearing her name has evolved into a national fundraising movement, complete with thousands of volunteers across the country carrying on her legacy of hope. To date, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation has raised more than $25 million toward fulfilling her dream of finding a cure and it funds more than 100 research projects nationally. Working locally At the Sussex Middle School on Tuesday, teachers and staff paid $5 to wear something yellow to school and Lemonade stands were held during all three lunch periods and at Back to School Night. “We made $515 for the foundation during the whole day and I would like to thank the school food service and Maschio’s who donated all of the lemonade, cups and napkins and all of the Builders Club kids who worked during the school day and this evening,” said Schoen. Ironically as Schoen was planning her Lemonade Stand event she was totally unaware that a Sussex Middle School student had been in hospital with Alexandra Scott and is currently battling the same form of cancer, neuroblastoma.