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Children's Cancer Fundraiser Set For June 12 At Co-op
An eight-year-old girl who formerly lived in Storrs is fighting cancer nationwide with spunk, chemotherapy, and cups of lemonade.
Alexandra Scott, who likes to be called Alex, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer, several days before her first birthday. She continues to battle the disease, which is fatal in 40 percent of cases. Selling lemonade for 50 cents a cup in her front yard has become a way for her to help her hospital "so all kids can get rid of their tumors," she says.
Alex, the daughter of UConn alumni Jay Scott '91 and Elizabeth (Flynn) Scott '91, was four years old and living in Connecticut when she came up with the idea of opening a lemonade stand. At the time she was undergoing treatment at Connecticut Children's Medical Center and her parents operated a food cart called the Java Joint outside the old UConn Co-op.
The Scotts have since moved to Wynnewood, Pa., to be closer to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Alex opened her first lemonade stand in July 2000 and made $2,000. Each year since, she has operated a lemonade stand in her front yard. As word has spread - she has been interviewed for Today and Oprah - donations have piled up, with more than $200,000 to date raised for pediatric cancer. Her success has inspired children all over the nation to run their own lemonade stands and donate the profits to Alex's fund for cancer research. The Philadelphia Foundation manages her fund.
On June 12, there will be more than 200 Alex's Lemonade Stands across the country to raise money for pediatric cancer research. One of them will be in the Java Joint coffee shop in the UConn Co-op from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cafŽ is owned by Alex's grandmother Judy Scott, Alex's aunt Kerri (Scott) Inyatkin, and Kerri's husband Ruslan Inyatkin. There will be a raffle, entertainment, and a silent auction that will include many UConn women's and men's basketball items. In addition, all tips received in May and June will be donated to Alex's Lemonade Stand.
Alex's parents have written a children's book based on their daughter's experiences, with the proceeds going to her fund. Alex has been the recipient of many prestigious honors, including the 2003 Volvo for Life Hero Award, Good Housekeeping's 2003 Heroes for Health Award, and in 2003 she was the Philadelphia Foundation Philanthropist of the Year. She has her own web page at www.alexslemonade.com.
"Alex is an inspiration to children and adults," says David Palmer, who has known the Scott family for many years. "She has incredible determination." Palmer, an associate professor of management, will be one of the many volunteers at the June 12 event.
