Well, 2 reasons…
On Fridays, you will notice Lindbergh staff wearing “casual” clothes – maybe jeans and a Lindbergh shirt. As a staff, Lindbergh donates to a special charity for each Friday of the year. This year, our chosen charity, which is very special to me, is Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. Alex Scott was a child who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma cancer at the age of 1. At age 4, she began a lemonade stand in her front yard. She told her parents that she wanted to raise 1 Million Dollars to give to cancer research! That year she raised $2,000. However, word got out and the local, then national news picked up her story. In 2004, when Alex was 8 years old, she met her goal of $1 Million. Alex passed away shorty after. Today, the foundation that she started continues to raise money for childhood cancer research. There are 135 institutions in the U.S. and Canada that receive money from ALSF. University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor is one of them. In 2005, a man named Chuck Zacney called Alex Scott’s parents. He told them that he had a “pretty good racehorse” named Afleet Alex, and he would like to invite the Scotts to the Kentucky Derby to promote Alex’s Lemonade Stand. He also said he would donate a percentage of Afleet Alex’s winnings to ALSF. Afleet Alex came in 3rd in the Derby, then won both the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. In all, Afleet Alex donated more than $4 Million to ALSF. I had the honor and privilege to meet my hero Afleet Alex last April in Lexington, Kentucky!
So, we wear Lindbergh shirts to show our pride for our wonderful school, and we wear jeans to help promote a wonderful charity allowing researchers to continue their work in fighting childhood cancer.
