The Lemon Legacy Grows: FCS Athletes and Northwestern Mutual Drive Record-Breaking Fundraising Season
- Cameron Contreras
- 4 minutes ago
- 7 min read
After a goal-shattering season raising money to fight childhood cancer, Northwestern Mutual is spreading the love by matching donations made this Selection Sunday. Northwestern Mutual and FCS Nation have raised over $70,000 this year, and on Sunday we have the chance to raise an additional $20,000 with Northwestern Mutual price-matching all donations up to a $10,000 total.
Selection Sunday is one of the biggest days of the season for the FCS, as it’s the day the NCAA announces the playoff bracket. The Selection Show will begin at 12 p.m. ET. The bracket consists of 24 teams, with the top 16 teams seeded and the top eight receiving an automatic first round bye. Eleven conference champions earn automatic playoff bids, and the remaining 13 are selected on the show, per the NCAA. The first
round begins on ESPN+ Nov. 29, leading up until the two remaining teams face off in Nashville for the National Championship.
Last season, North Dakota State took home its 10th national title, beating Montana State. The Bison has spent all this season at number one in the rankings, while the Bobcats are ranked number three leading up to week 13.
Our Mission
Alex Scott was diagnosed with neuroblastoma just before her first birthday. When she was four, she set up a lemonade stand in her front yard and told her parents she wanted to give the money she made to doctors to help find a cure. With the help of her brother Patrick, Alex raised $2,000 her first day.
She continued to set up lemonade stands each year, all while fighting cancer. As news spread, people around the country started their own lemonade stands to help her cause. Alex passed away in 2004 at the age of eight, she had raised over $1 million. Alex’s parents started Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation in 2005 to continue their daughter’s legacy and have since raised more than $300 million and funded over 1,500 research grants to help fight childhood cancer.
The foundation has been partnered with the Northwestern Mutual Foundation since 2012, contributing over $65 million and over 800,000 volunteer hours towards childhood cancer research.
Two seasons ago, Chris Schenkel, a managing partner at Northwestern Mutual in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, partnered Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation with FCS Nation to give FCS athletes a platform in an environment where they are often overlooked, all while supporting something bigger than them. “I love football, particularly, and especially FCS football, so it was a natural fit to want to partner something I love with an organization that Northwestern Mutual was already connected with,” Schenkel said. “We recognized that we could essentially marry some of the work we were doing on campus in our internship space with what we were doing in raising awareness around childhood cancer. We created something new, something special. And it worked.”
In its first season, the FCS Nation x Northwestern Mutual x Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation Challenge raised just under $50,000. Last season, we raised nearly $70,000. So far this season, we have raised $72,114. This season, we expanded from 12 athletes to 18, representing schools all across the nation. Our roster includes a plethora of decorated alumni that we are proud to have partnered with, including David Walker, a linebacker from Central Arkansas who was a fourth-round draft pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this year, and Mark Gronowski, the two-time national champion and championship MVP for South Dakota State. Gronowski also won last year’s Lemon Trophy for raising over $30,000 with the help of Jackrabbit fans.
This Year’s Challenge – Who’s Involved
This year’s challenge would not be possible without the dedication of our Managing Partners and their local offices:
● Chris Schenkel – South Dakota State University & University of South Dakota
● Derrick Dinger – North Dakota State University & University of North Dakota
● Heather Zepeda – Richmond
● Richard Worrell – El Cid, Furman, & Davidson
● Todd Grabner – Weber State
● Tony Stanley – Villanova
● Steve Gross – S. Illinois
● Jim Meeks – Central Arkansas
● Deshawn Chapman – Northern Arizona
● Jessica Salazar – FAMU
● Ryan Kramer – Illinois St.
● John Wright Jr – Mercer
● Greg Castronovo – Montana State
● Alessandro Tronco – Albany
This Year’s Honorary Captains
Aidan Bouman, QB, University of South Dakota, Schenkel Network Office - $22,369 raised.
Bouman has been with us since the beginning, winning the Lemon Trophy in 2023. He is now our top earner this year, raising over $22,000 with the help of Yotes fans. He’s led USD to an 8-4 record, throwing for 2,144 yards with 18 touchdowns. Last week he had 300 yards and five touchdowns against Southern Illinois.
“In this day and age with NIL and all these different kinds of opportunities, this is something that is truly second to none,” Bouman said. "This isn’t something that anybody else is doing around the country, so, to be apart of something so much bigger than myself is truly awesome . . . getting the word out there and seeing the community come together and really push for this, it’s been awesome.”
Chase Mason, QB, South Dakota State University, Schenkel Network Office - $20,243 raised.
Taco Dowler, WR, Montana State University, Castronovo Network Office - $11,888 raised.
Cam Stodghill, DB, University at Albany - $3,411 raised.
“The first thing I thought was it’s truly an honor to be asked to be a part of something like this, and then once I got over that, it was ‘Let’s do it, let’s get to work, let’s make this as big as we can,’” Stodghill said.
Bradlee Jones, DB, The Citadel, Coastal South Carolina District - $2,802 raised. “It was very clear right away how passionate he is about the football program and the university that he represents,” said Amanda Hall, the director of recruitment of Northwestern Mutual’s Charleston Area Office. “He has such an infectious smile, just a
happy guy who operates off gratitude and working as a unit with his teammates . . . He had done his research on Alex’s Lemonade Stand, he already knew exactly what we were trying to accomplish this football season . . . it’s been an honor to work alongside him and also his family.”
Julian Fox, LB, Mercer, Wright Network Office - $2,227 raised
TJ Baldwin, DL, University of Richmond, Zepeda Network Office - $2,111 raised.
“TJ is one of the most humble guys I’ve ever met,” said Jordan Stevenson, the development officer for the Northwestern Mutual Virgina group. “Our core values in the Virginia Group are giving, growth and grit; you take a high school all-star, suffers an injury, and while he’s rehabbing, he’s off the field at all of these community engagement events, raising money for a charity, partnering with an organization like us. Now he’s back on the field, working through the injuries, starting and coming back for a second season. I think it’s a story written for the storybooks.”
Donovan Woolen, LB, North Dakota State University, Dinger Network Office - $1,369 raised.
“Initially I was like, ‘yeah,’ I mean, this is an awesome thing to raise awareness to. Noah called me and I said yes immediately. I know this is something I would love to do, love to get people to raise awareness, raise money for it,” Woolen said.
Noah Bennee, TE, Weber State University, Grabner Network - $1,081raised.
“I was honored, as this opportunity doesn’t come around too often . . . I did an internship with Northwestern Mutual and I was introduced to Alex’s Lemonade Stand and the cause there . . . [I’m] really excited to hopefully play a little bit of a role in helping the cause,” Bennee said.
Chris Presto, LB, Southern Illinois University, Gross Network Office - $1076 raised.
“It’s a big deal, it’s bigger than football, clearly, and I’m honored for the Gross Network to hit me up and want to do it again. Last year started off strong, it was great, had the whole support of Carbondale behind me and we didn’t get it done, but hey, we raised a lot of money for a great cause,” Presto said.
Eddie Kasper, WR, Illinois State University, Kramer Network Office - $984 raised.
“I’m just super honored that I get the opportunity to do this and to raise money for a cause of this manner,” Kasper said.
Mikah Kent, DL, Davidson College, Worrell Network - $892 raised.
David Avit, RB, Villanova University, Stanley Network Office - $591 raised.
“I felt honored, because for people to be able to choose me and to see that I would be a good person to represent such a good cause it made me pretty happy. I felt pretty good about it, and also I’m excited to keep going forward,” Avit said.
Kaden Vig, University of North Dakota, Safranski District Office - $539 raised.
“I think Kaden’s a perfect person to [represent] what we’re trying to do, and the more people we can rally behind [the cause], the better,” said JJ Safranski, the managing director of the Dinger Network Office.
Jackson Pryor, TE, Furman University, Worrell Network Office - $268 raised.
“We are very proud to affiliate ourselves with Jackson and his leadership, his stewardship of the Alex’s Lemonade Stand brand, and we’re super proud to again this year partner with Furman University and extending this message, and doing it through a great player like Jackson,” said John Tripoli, managing director of Northwestern Mutual’s Greenville, South Carolina office.
Jordan Cumberbatch, DB, Florida A&M University, Salazar Network Office - $130
raised.
Ty Pennington, QB, Northern Arizona University, Chapman Network Office - $125
raised.
Jamal Mull, OL, Central Arkansas University, Meeks Network Office - $10 raised.
The Lemon Top Challenge
You can help support by participating in the Lemon Top Challenge:
1. Post a picture of yourself on social media balancing a lemon on your head
2. Tag @alexslemonade and @northwesternmutual
3. Include the hashtag #LemonTopChallenge and your school hashtag
For every Lemon Top Challenge Post, the Northwest Mutual Foundation will donate $10.
Lemon Top Challenge Leaders:
Chase Mason x SDSU x Schenkel Network Office - 97
Cam Stodghill Tackles a New Challenge: Fundraising for Childhood Cancer - 93
Chris Presto x Gross Network Office x Southern Illinois University - 44
Aidan Bouman x University of South Dakota x Schenkel Network Office - 38
Bradlee Jones x The Citadel x Worrell Network Office - 32
Julian Fox x Goodwin Wright Network Office x Mercer University -13
Jordan Cumberbatch x Salazar Network Office x Florida A&M University - 13
Taco Dowler x Castronovo Network Office x Montana State University - 13
Jackson Pryor x Furman University x Worrell Network Office -12
Eddie Kasper x Illinois State x Kramer Network Office -10
Donovan Woolen x Dinger Network Office x North Dakota State University - 9
TJ Baldwin x University of Richmond x Zepeda Network Office - 8
David Avit x Stanley Network Office x Villanova University - 6
Kaden Vig x Safranski District Office x University of North Dakota - 5
Every dollar funds research, better treatments and hope. Help support Alex’s Lemonade Stand and the fight against childhood cancer by donating, spreading the word and participating in the Lemon Top Challenge. Make the most of Selection Sunday when donations are matched by Northwestern Mutual. The impact is real. This is bigger than football.
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