My sister-in-law Mary Kuykendall called me earlier to point out that this weekend a nationwide fundraising effort for pediatric cancer research will take place. Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a charity inspired by Alexandra Scott’s (aka “Alex”) courageous fight against cancer, will be recreated in hundreds of locations throughout the country.
Many of those locations will be at horse racing tracks, in part because the thoroughbred horse named Afleet Alex was named after Alex Scott and will be running in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park Raceway in New York.
I’ve never done anything to help this charity before, but I feel close to it because my wife, Kathleen, has often cared for patients in the Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Unit at Bristol-Myers Squibb Childrens’ Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ during her pediatric residency. It’s both inspiring and difficult to hear stories of the bravery of the kids and their families, and I’ve often wished I could do more to help them.
No kid deserves to have one of these diseases that we collectively call “cancer”. I hope you’ll consider joining me in finding one of Alex’s Lemonade Stands that are open this weekend [ see a list of locations broken down by state ].
I’m going to try to go to the stand that is supposed to be at the U.S. Post Office in Roosevelt, NJ on Saturday, although I don’t know if it will still operate after the Post Office closes and I’ve committed to attend the Lawrence Hopewell Trail Dedication in the morning. Hmmm…. [ Thanks, Mary! ]