Alex's lemonade stand
CRANBERRY TWP — For a youngster whose average day usually includes hours spent at the hospital, chemotherapy injections and series of tests, Kaelin Thimons of Cranberry Township is ready for a day that will be anything but average.
From 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. June 8 at the Fun Fore All Family Entertainment Center off Route 19, Kaelin, along with children with cancer from all over the region, will enjoy a day of games, rides, food and fun at the fifth annual Alex's Lemonade Stand by Friends of Rehanna and Henry and HELP '13 (Hope, Enjoy, Laugh, Play).
Kaelin will serve as this year's honorary host of the event that is organized by Lori and Dave Silvester and their two children, Kate, 13, and Harrison, 10, of Cranberry Township.
Kaelin, 12, is a sixth-grade student at St. Kilian Catholic Elementary School in Cranberry. He is battling Ewing's sarcoma, a rare, but treatable form of bone cancer. He was diagnosed in January and will be undergoing treatments through the fall.
The lemonade stand is in memory of the Silvesters' friend Rehanna Lydon, who died just five weeks after being an honorary hostess at the 2011 stand, and for friend Henry Keating Scheck, who died in February 2009.
The family was inspired by the fun that Rehanna had two years ago, so the Silvesters created the new event called HELP.
Lori Silvester said the event is designed to celebrate pediatric cancer patients and survivors, and to give them a chance to hope, enjoy, laugh and play together and enjoy the “carnival-like” atmosphere.
“Patients from all over the region are invited to have fun with their families and get away from their needles and doctors and help them have some fun,” she said.
Ranked as a national “grand stand” because of its size, success in fundraising and atmosphere, the event helps support pediatric cancer research through Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation and has grown to be the biggest lemonade stand in Cranberry Township history.
This year's event will include appearances by the Pittsburgh Pirate Parrot, Garrison Carida Star Wars characters, a cash cube, dunk tank featuring Seneca Valley and St. Kilian teachers, Shriners clowns and balloon art, basket raffles, and a mini golf hole-in-one contest.
Attendees who donate $5 or $10 to Alex's Foundation will receive a matching FUN card from Fun Fore All to be used at their convenience.
They'll also have the opportunity to bid on Steelers, Penguins and other autographed memorabilia.
Through the stand, the Silvesters and supporters have raised more than $60,000 since its inception.
Lori Silvester said this year's goal is to raise $25,000.
Funds help support childhood cancer research projects by funding studies of new cures and treatments and encouraging and educating others, especially children.
The Silvester family and a team of volunteers will be serving up Chick-fil-A lemonade during the event.
For more information or to donate online, visit www.alexslemonade.org/mypage/89350 or stop by Fun Fore All for a flier.
To register a pediatric cancer patient or survivor for “HELP '13,” contact Lori Silvester via e-mail at lsilvester@zoominternet.net or by phone at 724-831-1014 or register online at http://goo.gl/MmnBV.
