With 3,500 paper lemons, Rita's helps fund the cure Local Rita's raises $3,500 for cancer research and Alex's Lemonade Stand BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer WOODBRIDGE - The Rita's Water Ice store on St. George Avenue came in ninth place out of 470 stores in 15 states across the nation to sell the most paper lemons to support the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. The Rita's Water Ice franchise company, which is headquartered in Trevose, Pa., teamed up with Alex's Lemonade Stand for the second year to raise money for the foundation. Alex's Lemonade is a charity that raises money for childhood cancer research. During July, Rita's sold paper lemons in all of its stores for a dollar apiece. "We raised $530,000 this year," said Kerry Robertson, public relations spokesperson for Rita's Water. She said the paper lemon fundraiser is in its second year. "The Woodbridge store raised $3,500 in just one month." Hilda Colon, who has been the owner of the Rita's store in Woodbridge for four years, said the amount of money raised was the effort of her 14 employees, who she said were mostly high school students. "Last year we raised $1,600," said Colon. "This year we got more in tune to what we were doing. We held theme nights every Wednesday, including Sports Night, pajama nights and a '70s Night, which helped customers get involved. My employees would come on their own time and hold the theme nights. We also had face painting for the kids and music for every themed night." Colon said that on Sports Night, every customer who walked into the store wearing a sports shirt received 10 percent off their purchase. "We also sold little balloons shaped like a lemon and filled with prizes for a dollar to go toward Alex's Lemonade Stand," she said. Colon said she would continue the themed nights next July for the fundraiser. Alex's Lemonade Stand was founded by Alexandra "Alex" Scott, a young cancer patient, who passed away in August 2004 at the age of 8. For four years, despite her deteriorating health, Alex held an annual lemonade stand with the help of her older brother Patrick in front of her home to raise money for childhood cancer research. Alex had raised over $1 million for childhood cancer research in her short lifetime. Following Alex's lead, children, schools, businesses and organizations have raised money for her cause through thousands of lemonade stands across the country. As of June 2007, her national campaign has raised over $12 million for pediatric cancer research. Her family is committed to continuing with her legacy through her foundation until a cure for all childhood cancers is found. For more information, visit www.alexslemonade.org.