Alex’s Lemonade Stand Fundraiser – Retrospective by Caryn Bird

Students in the laboratory of Dr. Ted Johnson held a fundraiser to “help fight childhood cancer, one cup of lemonade at a time.”  Caryn Bird, a biomedical sciences PhD student, and Rachel Vaizer, a medical student, hosted a two day lemonade stand that raised over $1,000 for childhood cancer research.  During the lemonade stand, 11 gallons (approximately 180 glasses) of homemade lemonade and over 23 dozen freshly baked treats were served to students, staff, faculty and community members. The three local news stations also stopped by for some refreshing lemonade and to spread word of the fundraiser with the community. The grand total of donations was $1129.73 and the online fundraising page is still open for additional donations (visit alsf.me/1468466) with all funds going directly to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) to help fund future childhood cancer research projects.

The Augusta University and Augusta communities really came together to support this amazing cause. Some of the lemonade stand attendees had heard about Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation while others had not – but we were blown away by the overwhelming support the communities showed through their comments and donations. Right now, there are ideas of maybe hosting another lemonade stand next summer, but a definite way to continue to support this organization will occur during childhood cancer awareness month (September). Dr. Johnson is the Cancer Cure Crusaders 2018 team captain for ALSF’s The Million Mile fundraiser. You can contribute to the cause by donating money, logging miles to spread awareness, or both! If you would like to share this with friends or family, the link to join our team or donate is: alsf.me/1483380.

We want to thank the community for its support of our fundraiser. We have seen personally how this organization helps fund the research we work on, and we wanted to give back and help raise money to find better treatment options and a cure for childhood cancer! This would not have been possible without your help!