As a cancer survivor, Peachtree Corners teen Lex Stolle wants to see young cancer patients have the same chance at life that he’s had.
Stolle, 15, said he felt that the best way he could help would be to raise money for research, but he wanted to do something a little different than many fundraising methods.
“I don’t really like it when people just ask me for donations – I don’t find any joy,” said Stolle, a sophomore at William & Reed Academy in Johns Creek. “I like to donate and feel good from it, but I want everybody to benefit from it. So I brainstormed for weeks and I thought if I did something like discount cards, it would benefit everybody involved.”
The Cancer Card, a discount card for businesses in five different cities, proved to be the winning option for Stolle.
“The restaurants benefit because it brings business to local places, people benefit because they’re saving money by using the cards and most importantly, the kids benefit because it’s raising money to fund research,” said Stolle, who was diagnosed with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia when he was 10 and endured nearly three years of chemotherapy at the Aflac Blood & Cancer Disorders Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
“To me, that’s a win-win-win and we’re able to help a lot of kids, support a lot of businesses and save people a lot of money.”
The 2023 campaign – featuring more than 50 businesses and restaurants in Peachtree Corners, Milton/Alpharetta, Marietta, Athens and Buckhead – was a hit as Stolle sold 323 Cancer Cards and raised $8,075 for cancer research. He said that for this year’s cards, which launch on Sept. 1, he’s swapped out Buckhead for Dunwoody and hopes for an even better year.
“Last year was a huge success and I hope to do even more than that this year,” said Stolle, who in addition to working the front desk at Horseshoe Bend Country Club in Roswell hosts a radio show on WSB called “The Children of Children’s,” sharing stories from the young patients at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
“I just got a $2,000 donation before I even started, so I’m thinking $11,000 will be the goal, but anything over $10,000 would be incredible.”
Besides raising funds for cancer research, Stolle said one of the best aspects of his 2023 campaign was meeting other patients and survivors and learning of their experiences.
Credit: Special to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Special to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“I’m an entrepreneur and it was cool to learn how to run a business and the economics behind it,” he said, noting he is perhaps the youngest Peachtree Corners resident with 501(c)3 tax status. “I paid sales tax and the whole legal part was cool to me.
“It was also cool to sell the card at festivals because I got to hear people’s stories, and to me that was one of the best parts. Even though I have my own story to tell, to hear someone’s story was very inspirational because it gave me the drive and motivation to keep going.”
Stolle said he hopes for a career in the political realm by either running for public office or working as a lobbyist.
“I spent a lot of time in the hospital in 2020, and so obviously it was a big election year and there I was, staring at the news all day,” he said. “I kind of fell in love with it and later got involved in some local races and I hope to get an internship this year with a politician in Georgia. I fell in love with politics and now I spent two hours a day reading up on it. It’s been really fun to get to learn more about it.”
While much of the money raised by this year’s Cancer Card will again be utilized for research, Stolle said he wanted a portion of the funding to go into aiding the emotional aspects of dealing with cancer.
“They asked how I wanted (the proceeds) used and I wanted it specifically for research,” he said. “This year, it’s going to be a combination of research and the mental part of it – having therapy dogs or clowns or magicians. A lot will go to research, but a little bit of the money will go to the mental side of it.”
Although he seems destined to once again play an important role in the fight against cancer, Stolle said it’s been gratifying to see the support his efforts have received.
“I’m so grateful to the community and how much they’ve done,” he said. “Any support is amazing.”
Credit: Gwinnett Daily Post
Credit: Gwinnett Daily Post
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