Sparta stand sells lemonade to save kids' lives

Sparta - Selling lemonade at a roadside stand wasn’t just a fun weekend activity for neighborhood kids in Sparta recently: it was also a way to save lives, as part of “Lemonade Days,” a national event founded by Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. Ryan Keener, a kindergartner from Hopatcong, and his two cousins, Kailyn and Mattison Burkholder of Sparta, ran a lemonade stand to raise money for the foundation, which raises awareness and funds for research into new cures and treatments for pediatric cancer. The foundation’s motto is, “fighting childhood cancer one cup at a time.” Alex’s Lemonade Stand is a unique foundation that has evolved from a young cancer patient’s front yard lemonade stand to a nationwide fundraising movement to fight childhood cancer. In 2000, Alexandra “Alex” Scott, a four-year-old cancer patient, announced a seemingly simple idea: She would hold a lemonade stand to raise money to help her doctors find a cure for kids with cancer. The idea was put into action by Alex and her older brother, Patrick, when they set up the first “Alex’s Lemonade Stand for Childhood Cancer” on their front lawn in July 2000. For the next four years, despite her deteriorating health, Alex held an annual lemonade stand to raise money for childhood cancer research. Following her inspirational example, thousands of lemonade stands have been held across the country by children, schools, businesses, and organizations, to benefit the foundation. As of May 2006, her national campaign had raised over $6 million for childhood cancer research. On Aug. 1, 2004, Alex died at the age of eight. Her spirited determination to raise awareness and money for childhood cancer while she fought her own battle with the disease has inspired thousands of people, from all walks of life, to raise money and give to her cause. One of the people she inspired was Ryan Keener. The six-year-old kindergartner from Hopatcong heard about Alex and her lemonade stand on the radio one day. Ryan asked his two cousins, nine-year-old Mattison and 11-year-old Kailyn Burkholder, to help and the three set up the lemonade stand at J&J Automotive on Woodport Road in Sparta, a business owned by Ryan’s stepfather and grandfather. They sold lemonade to the cars stopping to get gas at the Gulf station and raised over $200. This isn’t the first time Ryan Keener has been moved by humanitarian causes, Young said. In 2005, Ryan, who has a September birthday, donated all of his birthday presents to the children of the 25 families who ended up in Sussex County after being evacuated from the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina. In 2004, he donated half of his birthday money to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. “We’ve read every children’s book we can find on Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks,” said Young. “He’s just so interested in their stories and other stories of people overcoming adversity and making a difference,” added Pat Schutz, of Sparta, Ryan’s grandmother. “It doesn’t surprise me at all that he would do something like this. “He’s a very compassionate and caring little kid,” added Young. For information on Alex’s Lemonade Stand log on to alexslemonade.org.