GREATER PHILADELPHIA, Pa., April 12, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF), a nonprofit dedicated to finding cures for all kids with cancer, invites volunteers of all ages across the country to take a "stand" against childhood cancer when Alex's Lemonade Days returns June 10-12, 2016. The national volunteer fundraiser commemorates 8-year-old Alexandra "Alex" Scott's challenge to help her raise $1 million for childhood cancer cures, one cup of lemonade at a time. Volunteers are invited to host lemonade stands over the course of three days in June to continue Alex's mission and bring renewed attention to the fight against childhood cancer. Since 2004, more than 22,000 Lemonade Days stands have been held nationally, raising over $12 million. This year the Foundation hopes to reach the 25,000th Lemonade Days stand.
Alex's Lemonade Days began in 2004 when Alex set her sights on raising $1 million to fight childhood cancer, the disease she had been fighting since she was an infant. Alex invited volunteers to join her in hosting lemonade stands to help achieve her ambitious goal, one dollar and one lemonade stand at a time. With help from these volunteers, Alex would reach her million dollar goal before losing her life to cancer in August 2004. Now every year on the second weekend of June, Alex's mission of raising $1 million returns when supporters everywhere contribute to a cure during Alex's Lemonade Days.
The Foundation was built upon the principle that you are never too young to make a difference in the lives of others. Following in the footsteps of Alex Scott, the Foundation encourages volunteers of all ages everywhere to participate in Lemonade Days. During Alex's Lemonade Days, ALSF offers support to all volunteers who sign up to host lemonade stands.
Participants are encouraged to show support through social media utilizing #LemonadeDays. All participants, whether they host a lemonade stand, visit a stand or encourage others to do so, will utilize the hashtag to show their support for the Foundation on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and more.
For more information on Alex's Lemonade Days and to sign up to host a lemonade stand visit AlexsLemonadeDays.org.
About Childhood Cancer
Childhood cancer is a general term used to describe cancer in children occurring regularly, randomly and sparing no ethnic group, socioeconomic class, or geographic region. Childhood cancer extends to over a dozen types of cancers and a countless amount of subtypes. Just a few of these cancer types include: Ewing's sarcoma, glioma, leukemia, lymphoma, medulloblastoma, neuroblastoma, osteosarcoma, retinoblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma and Wilms' tumor. In the United States, childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children under the age of 15. Every day, approximately 250 kids around the world die from cancer, accounting for 91,250 losing their lives to the disease every year.
About Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation
Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) emerged from the front yard lemonade stand of cancer patient Alexandra "Alex" Scott (1996-2004). In 2000, 4-year-old Alex announced that she wanted to hold a lemonade stand to raise money to help find a cure for all children with cancer. Since Alex held that first stand, the Foundation bearing her name has evolved into a national fundraising movement, complete with thousands of supporters across the country carrying on her legacy of hope. To date, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, a registered 501(c)3 charity, has raised more than $120 million toward fulfilling Alex's dream of finding a cure, funding over 550 pediatric cancer research projects nationally. For more information on Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, visit AlexsLemonade.org.