Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel isn't just about getting laughs. The 47-year-old has long been an attendee at the L.A. Loves Alex's Lemonade Culinary Cookout, and it isn't for the food.
He's lending his support to an organization that raises money and awareness for the fight against childhood cancer. He's even volunteered as the emcee for the fundraiser.
"I've had many relatives die of cancer," Kimmel recently told People Magazine. "But it's really more about the possibility of that happening, and looking at being a parent and seeing these people who decided that instead of being devastated by [the loss of their daughter to cancer] — which of course they were — they were going to do something to help others in memory of their daughter."
Alex's Lemonade Stand is the legacy of a girl named Alex who died at age 8 from neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer. After receiving her diagnosis, Alex started a lemonade stand to raise money for other kids battling cancer. Her family has carried on those efforts, but it's Alex's story that has really reached so many.
"To hear the story of this little girl deciding to start a lemonade stand, but the money is not for her, and there's really no self-interest involved — it's so unique and loving," Kimmel said. "I think it really is inspiring."
Kimmel certainly isn't the organization's only supporter, but he's become one of its more vocal ones.
"Besides it being a fantastic event, they get great chefs," he said. "If you like to eat, it's a pretty great thing to go to."
Alex was diagnosed before the age of 1, and she started her lemonade stand at age 4. Her first stand raised $2,000 in just one day. As more learned of her project, many started lemonade stands of their own and donated their proceeds to Alex's charity. To date, Alex's organization has raised over $100 million to fight childhood cancer.
According to CureSearch, 15,700 children are diagnosed with cancer every year in the US — a figure that hasn't declined in the last 20 years. About 12 percent of children with cancer do not survive it.
