Cole Fitzgerald's memory honored through Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer
VOORHEES, N.J. (CBS) -- On Saturday, members of the CBS Philadelphia family teamed up with the family of Cole Fitzgerald to host a lemonade stand fundraiser to honor the 19-year-old young man who lost his battle with metastatic pancreatoblastoma in December.
Ashley Johnson, CBS Philadelphia's executive producer of impact on communities, held the lemonade stand in Voorhees. Each dollar raised through the sale of lemonade, various lemon-flavored goodies and pizza went to Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer.
"It's been a big initiative for our station, but it's also a personal one because the Fitzgerald family has been with the station for a very, very long time," Johnson said.
For most of Cole Fitzgerald's 19 years of life, his family was involved with CBS Philadelphia's annual telethon, which raises money for cancer research and provides essential support for families going through cancer journeys.
Cole Fitzgerald's sister, Maggie Fitzgerald, said some of her favorite memories of her brother took place at the annual telethon.
"There was one moment where he decided to pick up the mic and interview Alex's mom, Liz Scott, and it was so funny," she said. "He was no more than five years old."
Cole Fitzgerald's mother, Kerrie Fitzgerald, said their family has had a difficult grieving process over the past several months, including celebrating the birthday of Cole Fitzgerald and his twin sister in late March.
"But what was most important to Cole was finding cures," she said. "I think it's very important that we continue the work."
Monica Avery, a CBS Philadelphia producer who has produced the telethon for the past 18 years, said the organization has personally moved her in a meaningful way.
"We're just so happy to be a part of it, and so happy that we can come together at events like this," Avery said. "We're all family."
