Kayla Parry
Marketing Intern, PowerPay
A reflection from PowerPay Marketing Intern Kayla Parry on the June campaign supporting Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.
A Month Dedicated to ALSF
I have the privilege of working with PowerPay as a marketing intern, a role that has given me the opportunity to dive into different projects that go far beyond business and have the potential to make a meaningful impact on the lives of children and families around the world.
This June, one of those projects was Pour It Forward, PowerPay’s month-long campaign supporting Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.
Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation started with Alex Scott, a young girl with cancer who wanted to raise money to help other kids like her. What began as one lemonade stand has grown into a national movement funding childhood cancer research and family support programs.
For PowerPay, Pour It Forward was about helping employees understand that mission, connect with it personally, and find simple ways to take part.
Helping the Team Take Part
The campaign was organized around four weekly themes: Why We Pour, Get Loud, Show Up, and Finish Strong.
Each week gave the team a different way to learn, participate, and support ALSF. I helped with daily Slack posts, weekly walk/run leaderboard updates, virtual activities, campaign graphics, reminders, and participation tracking.
The activities were not overly complicated. We shared one ALSF fact each day. We created a virtual Bingo challenge. We shared lemon recipe cards. We encouraged employees to post Pour It Forward videos. We kept the walk/run challenge moving with calendar reminders and leaderboard updates.
That was one of the biggest things I learned.
Not everything in marketing has to be over the top to get people involved or to get an important message out. Small details can go a long way.
How PowerPay Showed Up
The participation throughout June was inspiring to see.
The ALSF Slack channel grew to 80 members. Employees shared 31 Pour It Forward videos, many of them with their children and families. Twenty-eight employees joined the walk/run challenge. Together, the team logged 2,058.62 miles for the month of June.
The numbers were exciting, but what stood out most was the support behind them.
People were not just checking off activities. They were learning about childhood cancer, encouraging each other, getting their families involved, and showing up for PowerPay’s Hero Family.
Through Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a Hero Family is a family affected by childhood cancer whose story helps bring the mission to life. For PowerPay, that family was Emilia’s.
I was continuously inspired by PowerPay and the support each employee showed to our Hero Family, as well as ALSF as a whole.
To see Emilia fight this battle with such bravery and a radiant smile is so remarkable and deeply moving. Her story is a daily reminder that we must fiercely support childhood cancer research and the families navigating it.
During PowerPay’s ALSF Happy Hour and Games Day, employees had the chance to welcome Emilia, her sister Lynnea, and their dad to the office. The team played games, wrote Hero Letters, spent time together, and showed support in a way that felt personal and real.
That moment helped me understand the difference between running a campaign and building a connection.
This month reminded me that marketing can turn awareness into a movement, one that goes far beyond corporate strategy and inspires a community around supporting a cause that changes lives.
I am incredibly grateful to have been part of Pour It Forward and to have helped support ALSF alongside the PowerPay team.
The activities may have been simple, but the participation and support our company showed was far more impactful. It showed the strength of PowerPay and what can happen when people are given meaningful ways to show up.
PowerPay poured it forward through every fact shared, every mile logged, every video posted, every letter written, and every moment of support shown for ALSF, Emilia’s family, and children and families facing childhood cancer.
Learn more about Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation at alexslemonade.org, and read CBS News Philadelphia’s story about Emilia and her family.