The Monmouth County Guidance Directors Association (MCGDA) is a professional, non-profit organization of School Counseling (Guidance) Directors from public and private schools in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Each year, every high school in Monmouth County is asked to nominate one senior for the Caring Award. The criteria is simple, nominate a student who has shown exceptional caring/compassion to a cause, group, or program during his/her high school career as your Caring Award Recipient.

St. Rose High School has chosen Bridget Smith. Over the past 15 years, she has been involved with the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation which supports a cause very close to her heart, childhood cancer research. Bridget’s journey began in 2007 after being diagnosed with neuroblastoma, 13 days after her 3rd birthday. The cancer affected her spinal cord, spinal canal, and abdomen. During one of her chemotherapy treatments, she came upon a book that told the story about Alex and the Amazing Lemonade Stand. While she didn’t fully grasp the purpose of the lemonade stand she did understand the impact one little girl was able to make. It was from then on that Bridget and her family were aligned with Alex’s mission to help other children like her who are fighting the battle of childhood cancer. Her involvement started small but as she gained her strength and the cancer shrank, her involvement grew. A small lemonade stand is now a town-wide event. Over the past 15 years, Bridget’s efforts has helped to raise over $400,000 dollars towards childhood cancer research. Bridget and her family have spread Alex’s mission at events around the northeast and even appeared on NBC’s Today Show. As she furthers her education, she plans on playing an active role in raising money in the hope of curing childhood cancer so that no child ever has to go through what she did, and she will do it, “One cup at a time.”

Bridget Smith '22 receives the Caring Award Monmouth County Guidance Association