GREENE – When Greene senior Andrea Myers attended a ‘Girls Take Charge’ leadership workshop last year, she was inspired by the story of a young cancer patient named Alexandra Scott who sought to find a cure for childhood cancer by selling lemonade.
By the time Scott passed away at the age of 8, she had succeeded in raising $1 million for pediatric cancer research. Following her death, the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation was formed to continue her work in fighting childhood cancer “one cup at a time.” Today, thousands of lemonade stands have been held to raise money and more than $25 million has been raised for pediatric cancer research, according to the non-profit’s website.
“I just thought it was a really good cause,” Myers said. When she brought the idea of holding a fundraiser for the pediatric cancer research foundation to members of Interact, a student organization to which she belongs, her peers thought so, too.
“(Pediatric cancer) is the leading cause of death of children under 15,” said Megan McDermott, explaining why she, too, believes it to be a worthy cause. The Greene High School senior serves as secretary of the student service organization, which is affiliated with Rotary International.