Fight Childhood Cancer One Cup at a Time: Toys
In 2011, Toys“R”Us and the Toys“R”Us Children’s Fund partnered for the first time with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding better treatments and a cure for childhood cancer.
The company conducted an eight-week, in-store and online fundraising and awareness campaign in all Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us stores nationwide and online at Toysrus.com/AlexsLemonade. By putting the spotlight on “kids helping kids,” the campaign provided parents the opportunity to teach their children the importance of giving back, and encouraged kids to work toward the ALSF mission of finding a cure for all children with cancer – one cup at a time.
To kick off the campaign, Toys“R”Us Times Square was transformed into an official Alex’s Lemonade Grand Stand. Celebrity guests, ALSF founders Liz and Jay Scott, as well as families affected by childhood cancer and research grant recipients served lemonade to those who stopped by.
600 Toys“R”Us stores nationwide hosted in-store events where kids and families were able to make donations to ALSF, receive information about the organization and learn how to get involved. Kids received lemonade and a pledge kit that offered instructions on how to set up an official Alex’s Lemonade Stand on their own. More than 19,000 children and their families attended this event at stores across the country and helped raise more than $60,000 in a single day.
A dedicated microsite provided visitors interested in hosting their own Alex’s Lemonade Stands with information on how to do so as well as general campaign information. The entire effort was also promoted via the social media outposts and websites of both partners.
The company’s first-ever, in-store and online awareness and fundraising campaign benefiting Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation raised more than $1.5 million. This marked the first time in ALSF’s history that a corporate partner raised more than $1 million in a single year.
Judges praised the campaign for successfully activating a “kids helping kids” focus, noting that an in-store presence was critical to engage the kids themselves. They also noted the power of this campaign for employees and commended Toys“R”Us for providing strong internal communications to support the effort such as a “Frequently Asked Questions” page.
