Karen Salerno is quite the scrapper. The Holmdel resident, along with friend Lyn Finn of Eatontown, will host a scrapbooking event, Lemonade Crop '09, March 28 to benefit a foundation that is close to her heart.

ERIC SUCAR staff Karen Salerno (center), along with son Tony and her friend Lyn Finn (r), looks at the contents of one of the baskets made for the upcoming Lemonade Crop '09, a scrapbooking event that will benefit Alex's Lemonade Stand, a foundation that raises funds for pediatric cancer research. Salerno first learned of Alex's Lemonade Stand when her son was seeking treatment for neuroblastoma, a pediatric cancer, at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

"Tony was diagnosed when he was almost 3 years old in June 2006, and we went to Philadelphia for his treatment and that is when I first got involved with the foundation," Salerno explained.

According to the National Cancer Institute, a division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, neuroblastoma is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in nerve tissue of the adrenal gland, neck, chest or spinal cord. Neuroblastoma most often begins during early childhood, usually in children younger than 5 years old.

Alex's Lemonade Stand was begun by Alexandra Scott, who was diagnosed with the disease just before her first birthday. Around the age of 4 and in treatment for cancer, she told her mother that when she left the hospital, she wanted to have a lemonade stand to raise money for her doctors to find a cure for neuroblastoma.

"The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is actually the headquarters of Alex's Lemonade Stand," Salerno said. "When Alex ran her first lemonade stand, she made $2,000 and she did it again the following year."

Salerno said that Alexandra's health deteriorated but she was featured on "Oprah" and NBC's "Today Show," telling Matt Lauer that her goal was to raise $1 million for pediatric cancer research.

According to alexslemonade.org, Scott raised the million dollars before she passed away in 2004 at the age of 8.

"A lot of our family and friends were asking if they could make donations and we really didn't know where to direct them," Salerno said. "But while we were in Philly, we actually met Alex's parents Liz and Jay Scott. So I got involved."

Two years ago, Salerno held her own lemonade stand.

"It was right after Tony's diagnosis and he was going through [chemotherapy], and the foundation called to find out how he was doing and how we all were doing," she said. "Liz and Jay Scott became very involved with our family and I can call them friends."

It was at this same time that Salerno's family found Jason's Dreams for Kids, a nonprofit founded by Red Bank businessman Dennis McGinnis.

According to the Web site, Jason's Dreams for Kids is devoted to granting wishes to children diagnosed with lifethreatening illnesses.

McGinnis, Salerno said, had learned of Tony's interest in tractors.

"Tony is a huge fan of John Deere tractors," Salerno said. "He just loves them. So, Dennis called and he told me he heard Tony had been ill and that he also heard Tony loves John Deere tractors. He had us come down to what was the John Deere dealer at Lawes [in Shrewsbury] to ride on a real John Deere, and they gave him a [child's] John Deere ride-on tractor."

After McGinnis received Tony's thankyou note, decorated with stickers and other scrapbook-type materials, McGinnis asked Salerno if she was into scrapbooking.

"He said, 'Well if you are into scrapbooking, I should put you in touch with Lyn Finn,'" Salerno recounted. "So I go to this scrapbooking event that benefited Jason's Dreams for Kids and I seek out Lyn Finn. Lo and behold, I find her and recognize her as one of my best friends from [Thompson] junior high school."

Salerno said that she had lost touch with Finn after she had moved away and hadn't recognized her married name.

"We reconnected and it was great to see her," Salerno smiled. "She had been running these scrapbooking events that benefit local charities, and Jason's Dreams for Kids had given our family a trip to Florida to the Give the Kids the World village, which gives families passes to Sea World and Universal Studios theme parks, so I wanted to get involved to give back since they don't accept payment for the trip."

Salerno's first involvement with the scrapbooking event got her hooked, she said.

"Last year, we held the event May 1 and we had 100 people come to the Methodist Church in Lincroft," Salerno said. "With a registration fee, we provided three meals and a scrapbooking space from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m."

Along with scrapbookers, Salerno said that the women managed to score gift baskets for a silent auction and a scrapbookrelated vendor to sell supplies and donate a portion of proceeds.

"We even had a masseuse come in," Salerno laughed. "When you are working for 12 hours on a scrapbook, you need a shoulder massage."

Their hard work paid off.

"We raised about $9,000 and had most of the food donated by local businesses and people who came brought stuff," Salerno said.

But this year would call for a new beneficiary.

"Since it was so successful last year, I asked if we could do it for Alex's Lemonade Stand this year," Salerno explained. "It's great to help out Jason's Dreams for Kids, helping kids after they have been affected by the disease. But there is the other side of the coin, so why not help to raise money to further research to prevent the disease?"

Salerno said this year the women selected a larger venue in light of the previous year's success.

"The VFW of Port Monmouth donated the use of their facility for March 28 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.," Salerno said. "The goal is to fill it with 150 people, and registration is $100 a head and that gets you 5 feet of scrapping space. They get three meals and goodie bags filled with donated items."

Salerno said that all of the involvement has been therapeutic.

"It feels wonderful," she said. "This has been a way for me to stop worrying about my children. During the height of Tony's treatment, I would tend to obsess on the smallest complaint he had. This made me focus on the greater good and I got reconnected with a friend."

With a child who has had a challenging form of pediatric cancer, Salerno certainly has learned how to make lemonade out of the proverbial lemons.

Just days after Tony's diagnosis, Salerno gave birth to a daughter, Samantha.

"I grew up in Middletown and I always did feel like it was a big town with a smalltown feel," Salerno said. "I was able to find two other friends from high school at the scrapbooking event, and being a part of the community really helped me.

"There was an outpouring of support for us. Our neighbors, our friends, the police department, everyone was willing to lend a helping hand."

As for Salerno's son Tony, she said he is doing very well.

"He is awesome," she said. "We went to Philly not long ago and his scans came back clear. He has been clear for the past two years now."

For more information on the event and how to donate or to obtain registration forms for this year's charity scrapbooking event, Lemonade Crop '09, visit lemonadecrop. blogspot.com.