Getting the Scoop at LA Loves Alex's Lemonade

Once a year famous chefs from all around the United States band together on the UCLA campus to have a big fair with lots of different foods from all different restaurants at the LA Loves Alex’s Lemonade event. But the goal isn’t money or fame - it’s to help a very worthy cause. Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation has been working all over the United States since 2005 to fund research to find a cure for childhood cancer. It all started when a very nice and determined girl named Alex Scott, who was only four years old at the time, held a lemonade stand to raise money for the hospital that was helping heal her. She had cancer too. And now the foundation has grown so much since those early days. This year I arrived to see cars piling into a UCLA parking lot and a long line forming outside the tented area just for tickets. More than 2,000 people attended this event, and this was only the eighth of its kind. Imagine how big the 10th will be! And I hope it will be huge, since more than 650 kids in the world get cancer every single day. To help that many sick kids in the world you need to raise a lot of money. This year I helped fund-raise and joined the kids committee, which is a group of kids from all over Los Angeles who hold lemonade stands over the summer to raise money for Alex's Lemonade Stand. Kids who have cancer can't always help themselves and I love teaching other children about helping others, says Kori Bernards, the adult organizer of the kids committee. This year, it was really exciting to get to go up on stage with the other kids and present a check for $54,000 -- all the money the kids raised -- to Alex Scott’s family. It felt really good to be contributing to this good cause.

Of course the adults raised a lot of money too - in fact the whole event raised $1.3 million to combat childhood cancer. The other events included an auction where you could bid on having famous chefs come cook for you in your very own house. But one of the best parts was the food. Each chef had a booth where they served an item of their own making. The food was delicious and new. There was everything from sour patch kid lemon bars to vegetarian lasagna. The lasagna was made by Chris Bianco, who came all the way from Phoenix to attend, because: I don’t think there's a better cause than helping cure a horrible disease like cancer.Some other delectable delights included the chicken meatballs from chef Nick Anderer of Martina restaurant in New York City and gelato ice cream from Nancy Silverton here in Los Angeles. But, there’s more! There are many events like this held by The Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation in many other major cities. Another great aspect of the day were the speeches which were all very touching, including a personal one from Jimmy Kimmel who talked about dealing with his own son’s illness and how this made this day even more important for him. They also included a heartfelt letter to his sister that Alex's brother wrote on the 13th anniversary of her death. Suzanne Goin, the chef behind LA restaurants like AOC, Tavern, and Lucques, who, along with her husband, chef David Lentz, is the host of LA Loves Alex’s Lemonade, says listening to the Scott family the first time she came to this event got her involved. The part that touched me the most was that Alex was so sick and just a kid, but she really wanted to help other children instead of herself. Now, every year I look forward to this event because I know it's fun, inspiring, for a good cause, and the food is delicious!

Her friend, chef and Food Network star Giada De Laurentis ads, Suzanne gave me the background on Alex and I was so touched because I have a nine- year-old daughter, and if I lost her I would be so heart-broken.Through Alex’s Lemonade Stand I’ve come to believe that if you can make a difference you should make it because the world's not going to help itself. It inspires me to think that, for example, something as simple as holding a lemonade stand might end up having a big impact. When Alex first started selling lemonade her goal was not for her lemonade stand to turn into a big foundation that hosts tons of events every year-- her goal was to help people. To help people who couldn't otherwise help themselves. People with something that we haven't found a cure for yet. She didn't know it would grow so much, but she knew it would help people.