You’ve probably seen one in a major shopping center, school or neighborhood near you: a lemonade stand with the name Alex on it. The famed Alex’s Lemonade Stand is tied to campus through High Point University senior and Newport, Rhode Island native James Tasca, who is taking those stands to the next level this fall.
Tasca, along with one of his friends, is training to compete in a Half Ironman competition – a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run – in Austin, Texas on Oct. 26. Throughout the course of their training, the duo decided they wanted to give a greater meaning to the challenge: to raise money for childhood cancer through Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.
Tasca is cousins with Alex Scott, the inspiration behind Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer (ALSF). In 1997, Scott was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer, shortly before her first birthday. She set up a lemonade stand when she was four years old to raise money to help doctors find a cure. Since then, ALSF has raised more than $80 million towards finding a cure for the disease that took her life.
“Since Alex was my cousin, my family formerly held lemonade stands in Garden City, Rhode Island consisting of my mom, brother Peter, aunt Mary and cousin Ellen,” Tasca says. “I grew up supporting this cause and its success has always been important to me.”
With every donation, Tasca and his team have pledged to compete in the triathlon in memory of the donor’s choice of person they know who has been affected by cancer.
In addition to raising money through his triathlon team, Tasca is working with HPU sororities and fraternities to set up their own lemonade stands with him along the Promenade on campus. He also passed a bill through the Student Government Association, which raised $7,000 for the cause.
“Every cent counts and all donations will be appreciated,” adds Tasca, a business administration major. “It is for an extremely important cause. With any donation, please specify if you would like us to complete the competition in honor of anyone you know who has passed or been affected by cancer.”
To learn more about childhood cancer and to contribute to Tasca’s team, visit http://www.alexslemonade.org/mypage/1120397.