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(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080820/NYW028 )
The story began in 2005 when Liz and Jay Scott, Alex's parents, reachedout to executives at The Rose Group in an effort to gain support from localbusinesses for the new foundation dedicated to their daughter. Armed with 67restaurants in Southeast PA, Southern NJ, Delaware, Baltimore, WilkesBarre/Scranton and the Lehigh Valley, the two organizations workedhand-in-hand over four weeks and raised $166,000 dollars by selling cups oflemonade and paper lemons at their restaurant locations.
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Over the next three summers, the coalition extended to more than 100restaurants and expanded to include a wide variety of events ranging from golfoutings, in-restaurant lemonade stands and contests, to bake sales, fairs andcar washes.
As the program grew, so did the dollar amount raised. By 2006, the programreached $276,000, and in 2007, that figure grew to over $355,000. That set thestage for this year's $1.2 million milestone.
"From the very beginning, we were dedicated to raising as much as possiblein support of this important cause," said Harry T. Rose, chairman and CEO ofThe Rose Group. "But when we saw how our restaurant neighborhoods ralliedbehind us year after year in our efforts, we knew we were on the verge ofsomething big. And each year, we raised the bar higher and before long, thedream of reaching one million dollars became a reality."
For Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, this reality is very close to home.Alex Scott was only four-years-old when she opened her first lemonade stand onher front lawn in July of 2000. Her idea was simple -- sell cups of lemonadeto help "her doctors" find a cure for kids with cancer. What ensued, despiteher deteriorating health, was a personal mission to raise $1 million.
"When Alex told us that she was going to raise one million dollars, weweren't sure how to respond," said Liz Scott. "She was a little girl with abig dream. Here we are eight years after we hung the first lemonade signoutside of our home, and Applebee's is donating $1 million to her cause. It'samazing, and we are extraordinarily grateful for their support."
With the help of corporate sponsors and thousands of individual lemonadestands nationwide, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation has funded over 80research projects at 40 institutions across the country -- many in Applebee'srestaurants' communities.
"The goal of Applebee's is to provide a fun and friendly atmosphere wherefamily, friends, and neighbors can come together," said Harry Rose. "Nothingspeaks louder to this commitment than when we connect with our restaurantguests and work together towards a better tomorrow for our neighbors."
Statistically, pediatric cancer is something most communities can relateto. On average, one in every four elementary schools has a child with cancerand the average high school has two students who are current or former cancerpatients. What's more, one in every 330 Americans develops cancer before theage of 20, and on average 36 children and adolescents are diagnosed withcancer everyday in the United States.
"Alex's Lemonade Stand won't stop until there is a cure for thisdevastating disease," added Harry Rose. "And we will continue to support themin their efforts to fund new research, treatments, hopes and dreams for themillions of childr
