Polished-casual restaurant Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, an Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) partner since fall 2012, has now surpassed $1 million in donations to the national childhood cancer foundation, which is dedicated to raising funds for research into new treatments and cures for children battling various cancers. Firebirds’ donations to ALSF come from the sale of freshly squeezed lemonade in its restaurants and from lemonade stands set up outside each Firebirds location during ALSF’s annual Alex’s Lemonade Days fundraiser in June.
“It is humbling and amazing to witness the support of our stakeholders and the generosity of the communities we serve,” says Firebirds CEO Mark Eason. “We plan to keep fighting against childhood cancer for as many years as it takes to beat the disease.”
ALSF was born at the front yard lemonade stand of 4-year-old cancer patient Alexandra “Alex” Scott (1996–2004), who said she wanted to give her proceeds to oncologists so they could “help other kids, like they helped me.” By the time she died in 2004, Alex had raised more than $1 million toward a cure for childhood cancer. Her foundation has gone on to raise more than $150 million to research childhood cancer causes, treatments and cures. All of this was done one cup of lemonade at a time.
Year-round, Firebirds donates $1.25 per glass of freshly squeezed lemonade sold at all of its restaurants to ALSF. Starting in 2013, Firebirds also began participating in ALSF’s Alex’s Lemonade Days, putting a lemonade stand outside each of its restaurants every year for the non-profit’s annual June fundraiser. This year’s donations from Firebirds to Alex’s Lemonade Days exceeded $100,000—an average of $2,326 from each of Firebirds’ 43 locations. From these two efforts, Firebirds has raised an average of $200,000 per year to help make a difference in the lives of children battling cancer.
“We are honored to have Firebirds as one of our Corporate Partners, as that’s exactly what they’ve been for the last five years—partners to us,” says Liz Scott, co-executive director of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. “A million dollars is an incredible milestone, as it was for my daughter Alex, and gets us one step closer to finding a cure for all kids with cancer.”
