It’s that time of year again for the Lemonaid Stand.  Yes, I am  using a different spelling because 100% of the money that we raise as part of this multi family effort will go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as part of our annual Light The Night fund-raising effort.  This was started three years ago when one of our friend’s daughter wanted to have a lemonade stand and considering the impact that LLS has had on our lives they were quick to say ok as long as the proceeds were donated to the LLS.  It was thrown together very last second and we were able to raise $160.  Last year we put a little more planning into it and were able to up that amount to $860.  This year, we are in the local paper again and are setting up fliers at both Cutler’s and Mason’s school, so hoping to continue to grow.

As is now customary, we will have lemonade, cookies, snacks, some adult beverages, a bounce house, and snow cones.  For the adults concerned about catching the local college game, I will even have the tv set up in the garage.  Last year was a tremendous success so here’s to hoping for a continued growth of our annual stand.  The lemonade and snacks are free for any donation.  No donation is too small.

So mark October 6^th on your calendar, the stand will open at 2pm and go until 6pm.  We usually extend well beyond 6pm, but that’s the unofficial gathering.  Our address is:

429 Whisperfield Dr

Murphy, TX  75094

If you can’t make it but still want to help make a difference in the effort to squash blood cancers, you make a tax deductible donation at our Light The Night team page.

http://pages.lightthenight.org/ntx/Plano12/teamcutler2012

Thanks again to all of those that have already donated.  No second donation required to join the party.

As many of you know, Cutler, our now 3 year old son, was diagnosed with a rare form of AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia) when he was six months old and thanks to many amazing people and organizations he was home recovering from his bone marrow transplant in time for his first birthday.  I am happy to say that as of his most recent oncologist appointment, he is still cancer free and living a normal life.

Cutler riding in a St Jude bikeathon at his school earlier this year.

Through countless nights in the hospital I would sit awake at night wondering why this was happening to us and I finally came to a conclusion that it was to raise money and attention to the noble cause taken on by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).  We, as a family, have done this in many ways including Melanie running a marathon, but primarily we do it annually by participating in the Light The Night Walk.  Light The Night Walk is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s annual fundraising walk to pay tribute and bring hope to people battling cancer.  Hundreds of thousands of participants raise funds for lifesaving research and patient services.  For more than 60 years, The LLS has been solely focused on people with blood cancers. Presently, we have more than $250 million committed to research across the United States and in ten other countries. Every dollar is provided by concerned donors.

LLS invests in the best, outcome based science:

• Anywhere, with no geographic or institutional boundaries
• Without profit incentive
• To meet unmet Medicare needs of people with blood cancers

So how can you help us in our cause?  You can go to our fund raising site at http://pages.lightthenight.org/ntx/Plano12/teamcutler2012  where no donation is too small.  If you are fearful or unable to donate via the internet, we are more than happy to receive checks made out to the LLS at our house:

429 Whisperfield Dr

Murphy, TX  75094

We are also in favor of you forwarding this to your own circle of friends that might be interested in helping us abolish blood cancers.

If you want to join us on the night of the walk, there is a link at the bottom to join our team where you can then set up your own page and raise funds as well.  I highly encourage anyone interested and available to join us on October 20^th in Plano as it is a very special event to be surrounded by so many people dedicated to such an incredible cause.  If you can’t make the event, we will also be having our annual Turning Lemons Into Lemonade Stand that is growing in size and success every year in the near future.