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Fighting childhood cancer through our partnership with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation

Eight Cencora volunteers posing outside a yellow lemonade stand with posters and T-shirts reading "Alex's Lemonade Stand."
At Cencora and the Cencora Impact Foundation, our team members unite to improve the health and well-being of people and animals.
We also work together with nonprofit organizations to further our efforts to advance access to healthcare around the world. One exemplary partnership that enables us to expand our impact is with Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF), a nonprofit organization changing the lives of children with cancer by funding critical research, raising awareness, supporting families, and empowering everyone to help cure childhood cancer.
The Cencora Impact Foundation began forming a relationship with ALSF in 2022 by providing grant funding for their family services programs: Travel for Care and SuperSibs. Through these programs, ALSF offers free emotional, financial, and logistical support to childhood cancer families to help make their challenges more manageable.
Photo of Rich Tremonte, Cencora Impact Foundation Board Advisor and EVP & President of U.S. Pharmaceuticals and Animal Health at Cencora.
Photo of Rich Tremonte, Cencora Impact Foundation Board Advisor and EVP & President of U.S. Pharmaceuticals and Animal Health at Cencora.

“It is truly inspiring to witness the incredible participation at all levels of our company in support of Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. Every August, Cencora embraces the joy of hosting lemonade stands and the enthusiasm has been contagious. My team and I had the privilege of hosting our own stand on National Lemonade Day, and the experience was heartwarming. I believe that we are making a meaningful impact to help cure childhood cancer, one cup at a time.”

Rich Tremonte
Cencora Impact Foundation Board Advisor and EVP & President of U.S. Pharmaceuticals and Animal Health at Cencora

Photo of Rich Tremonte, Cencora Impact Foundation Board Advisor and EVP & President of U.S. Pharmaceuticals and Animal Health at Cencora.

Living our shared purpose

Cencora Impact Foundation Board Advisor and EVP & President of U.S. Pharmaceuticals and Animal Health at Cencora, Rich Tremonte, is also an executive champion of our partnership with ALSF and hosts activities at Cencora’s headquarters.
A large group of volunteers pose for a photo in a Cencora warehouse, surrounding a blue and white-striped lemonade stand.
A large group of volunteers pose for a photo in a Cencora warehouse, surrounding a blue and white-striped lemonade stand.
Since potentially lifesaving treatment is not always available locally for children battling cancer, ALSF's Travel for Care program provides financial assistance to cover the cost of gas, lodging, and airfare when families need to travel to clinical trials, experimental therapeutics, or treatment innovations not offered at their local hospital.

We also know that childhood cancer impacts more than just the child who receives the diagnosis — it affects the entire family. ALSF’s SuperSibs program is dedicated to comforting and empowering siblings of children with cancer so they can face the future with courage and hope. Siblings ages 4–18 receive age-appropriate mailings over a two-year period that include coping skills and encouragement as their brother or sister fights cancer. Parents are also provided resources to ensure appropriate and effective support at home, in school, and at the hospital.
A large group of volunteers pose for a photo in a Cencora warehouse, surrounding a blue and white-striped lemonade stand.
The Cencora Impact Foundation continues to fund these family services programs today, and with an increased grant award in 2024, began supporting ALSF’s Crazy 8 initiative as well. This global, groundbreaking effort was developed to accelerate childhood cancer research by supporting large-scale, collaborative projects with the singular focus of curing the incurable. Our funding for the Crazy 8 Summit enables ALSF to bring together multidisciplinary researchers from around the world to tackle the most difficult-to-treat childhood cancers.

Empowering team members to get involved

Beyond grant funding, this multifaceted partnership also engages our team members throughout the U.S. and in other countries. We invite our people to host lemonade stands every August at their office locations and distribution centers with fellow team members, as well as in their own neighborhoods with friends and family. Participation has grown exponentially year after year, and we have seen more than 80 elaborately decorated lemonade stands run successfully to date. 

To support our team members’ overwhelming dedication to ALSF’s cause, we offer paid volunteer time off so it’s easier for them to participate. The Cencora Impact Foundation also matches every dollar raised in August by 200 percent to help them make an even greater contribution.

Ken Hardy, Cencora Impact Foundation Board Member and SVP of U.S. Supply Chain Operations at Cencora, is an executive champion of the ALSF partnership, encouraging distribution center participation in the annual campaign to help fight childhood cancer.
Photo of Ken Hardy, Cencora Impact Foundation Board member, SVP of US Supply Chain Operations, at Cencora.
Photo of Ken Hardy, Cencora Impact Foundation Board member, SVP of US Supply Chain Operations, at Cencora.

“Team members at our distribution centers across the U.S. bring their passion to work every day and are energized by their ability to live Cencora’s purpose in support of ALSF’s mission. It’s incredible to see our purpose come alive in this tangible way, creating healthier futures for families impacted by childhood cancer through this initiative.”

Ken Hardy
Cencora Impact Foundation Board Member, SVP of U.S. Supply Chain Operations at Cencora

Photo of Ken Hardy, Cencora Impact Foundation Board member, SVP of US Supply Chain Operations, at Cencora.
 
Together with our team members, we contributed more than $300,000 from 2022–2024 and Cencora has been named a top fundraiser for two years in a row — a recognition we aim to continue receiving. This achievement highlights the dedication and generosity of our team members who have united to make a difference by organizing lemonade stands, making donations, and rallying behind this important cause.

Cencora business units take their own spin on this company-wide initiative, including Triose, a part of Cencora that has independently been a corporate sponsor of ALSF for over a decade. In addition to hosting lemonade stands, this team holds a t-shirt design contest, a 50/50 raffle, and a “Pucker Face” competition, where team members cast votes to determine which of their coworkers has the best lemon pucker face. They also support ALSF’s Million Mile initiative with the goal of collectively walking, running, or cycling one million miles.

Our global headquarters in Conshohocken, Pa. is also gearing up to host the inaugural Cencora 5K Run in September 2024 to celebrate the company’s birthday. Team members will be racing with passion and purpose to drive awareness and raise funds in support of ALSF’s mission.
Two people stand behind a table in the cafeteria at Cencora’s office. The table displays signage for Alex’s Lemonade Stand next to two large jugs of lemonade. Someone stands on the other side of the table and holds a cup of lemonade. A large plastic signboard says, “Alex’s Lemonade Stand. Fighting childhood cancer. One cup at a time.”

Building a powerful partnership

Photograph of Liz Scott, Alex’s mom and Co-Executive Director of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. Liz holds a framed photo of a child in one hand and a lemon in the other. The photo is black and white, except for the yellow lemon, and is taken outside under a tree.
Photograph of Liz Scott, Alex’s mom and Co-Executive Director of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. Liz holds a framed photo of a child in one hand and a lemon in the other. The photo is black and white, except for the yellow lemon, and is taken outside under a tree.

"We are so grateful for the tremendous support Cencora has given us. From employee held lemonade stands, to funding family support programs through the Cencora Impact Foundation, they continue to make a powerful impact in the fight against childhood cancer. It is amazing to see their community come together to support these families."

Liz Scott
Alex's mom and Co-Executive Director of Alex's Lemonade Stand

Photograph of Liz Scott, Alex’s mom and Co-Executive Director of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. Liz holds a framed photo of a child in one hand and a lemon in the other. The photo is black and white, except for the yellow lemon, and is taken outside under a tree.

Learn more about corporate responsibility

at Cencora

We are committed to building partnerships and operations that benefit people and the planet. We aim to broaden access to healthcare and accelerate health outcomes in communities and for our customers around the world.

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