Liz Scott, Molly McNearney, Jay Scott and Jimmy Kimmel attend L.A. Loves Alex's Lemonade pediatric cancer food and wine fundraiser at UCLA Royce Plaza in Los Angeles, CA on Saturday, September 14, 2019 (photo: Benjamin Shmikler/ABImages)
Kids have been setting up lemonade stands on street corners for generations, but L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade Stand gives special meaning to the longstanding American tradition.
By Heather Newgen
It’s common to see kids with homemade signs and a fresh batch on lemonade in their neighborhood, but it’s not so common to see a 4-year-old selling lemonade to help kids with cancer, which is what Alexandra Scott did. Alex was was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a very rare form of pediatric cancer the week of her 1st birthday. As she got older and learned of her condition, she wanted to do something to find a cure and to help those who couldn’t get the care they so needed and deserved. So at just four-years-old she set up a lemonade stand in her front yard, Alex’s Lemonade Stand, and raised thousands for cancer research in just one day.
From there her operation grew as others heard about Alex’s Lemonade stand and became inspired to help. People opened their own stands and donated to her cause. Alex’s battle with cancer ended in 2004 when she was just eight. Before her untimely death, Alex raised $1 million for other sick kids all just by selling lemonade. After her passing, her parents Jay and Liz Scott took things into their own hands and officially launched ALSF, or the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, in her honor, which has now raised over $150 million to date.
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Celebrities gather for the L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade Stand annual fundraiser to not only remember Alex, but celebrate what a lemonade stand meant to her.
“It’s a near perfect day. There’s so much love and generosity in the air. It’s only missing one thing and that’s Alex, her father Jay said addressing the star-studded LA crowd.
This year Jimmy Kimmel, who has been a longtime supporter of L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade Stand, was joined by “Big Little Lies” star Laura Dern, Joe Mantegna, Timothy Olyphant, Nolan Gould, Camilla Belle and Kirsten Vangsness to help raise over $1.2 million to fight childhood cancer with auction items like an intimate dry-aged beef dinner for 30 by chef Adam Perry Lang in Kimmel’s barn.
“Every year they raise millions of dollars for pediatric cancer research [and there] has been a ton of new breakthroughs because of their funding. And it helps keep the vision of this young girl, Alex, who unfortunately passed away, because pediatric cancer helps keep her memory alive,” Gould told The Voluntourist.
He added, “I think when I first got involved, I was a kid myself. I think I came to this event for the first time when I was like 11 years old. It’s a heartbreaking thing when ever a kid is sick. But the fact that she was so like brave in the face of all that and wasn’t just thinking about herself, but was thinking about, you know, the kids that would come after her, started this lemonade stand to help raise money. That’s just something that’s so inspiring, especially as a young person who feels like sometimes we get left out and a lot of people look out for us, seeing that an organization started by another young person, like I just had to be involved.”
Also hand on were dozens notable chefs like Chris Bianco, Donald Link, Nancy Oakes, Nancy Silverton, Steve Samson, Jon Shook, Vinny Dotolo, Rocco Whalen and Marc Vetri who came together to whip up their famous dishes that make the event a foodie’s dream.
“I do my signature beef short ribs sliced and I do it every year. It’s the crowd favorite,” Adam Perry Lang from the popular Hollywood eatery APL said. “It’s my favorite event of the year and quite honestly, it’s a combination of doing great things for great people, great people, as well as getting to spend some time with some of my closest chef friends in the world,” he continued.
Pizza Master Chris Bianco from Pizzera Bianco revealed how he’s been supporting Alex’s Lemonade since the beginning.
“The first one that he did was back in Philly back in the day, I don’t even know 17 years ago, maybe and then and then since you started here 10 years ago, and what inspires you to do it is like, who could say no to this? How do you especially when you meet, you know, Liz & Jay and Alex’s family. And you realize, in any situation, it’s always thoughts and prayers and whatever. But if you don’t do anything, you know, hopefully you just praying for the strength to do something, you know, to like, do whatever it is given whatever it is, no matter how minimum It can be as you can. And so for us, We cook food so we give it and we get a lot more back. So it’s, you know, it’s an incredible community to be part of.
Jon Shook from Jon & Vinny’s also talked about why he loves the organization and how he chose the dish he prepared for guests.
[I’m] “Doing a pasta salad today mostly because we’re sharing a booth with Chris (Bianco). Chris sent us what he was going to make with lemon, red onion, goat cheese — and the combination of the two are great so we tried to kind of team up so it’s like a peas and carrots kinda vibe. We’ve been doing Alex’s Lemonade for 10 years. When we first heard about it, it just seemed like a no brainer — Kids, cancer, Alex, so everything that it was about just makes sense for us all.”
Guests also experienced wine tasting from over 50 vintners and the cocktail artistry of major mixologists, including Eric Alperin (The Varnish) and Christiaan Röllich (The Lucques Group), among others, who will craft signature drinks for attendees.
For more information on L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade Stand please visit https://www.alexslemonade.org/.