As time went on we started to think of what we would like the site to become. We wanted the site to be a place where people could come to save money and get educated about Childhood Cancer. We also wanted to be able to give back to the many childhood cancer organizations that had been helping us financially during Alex's treatment. This remained just a dream for a couple of years because we didn't have the time to devote to it. Then in September 2001 we found ourselves with nothing but time, as our web design business took a turn for the worse.

Desperate to pay the bills, and wanting to make the most of the down time, we launched Alex's Coupons. From the beginning we were able to offer our visitors great stores, coupons to save them money and information on childhood cancer, but it was still just a little site that wasn't making enough money to allow us to donate to others.

By March 2005, income from the site had grown enough that we were able to make our first donation to charity, a $1000 donation to Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation. Then in November 2005 our real dream was finally realized when we started making monthly donations to various childhood cancer organizations. Our plan was to not only make the donation, but also to educate our visitors about the organization that was receiving the money. Unfortunately the following month (December 2005), Google dropped Alex's Coupons from their rankings. This happens without notice or provocation from time to time and is usually short lived, so even though the site was not making enough money we continued to make the monthly donations. Unfortunately after 9 months we had to suspend our monthly donations, but we are still making donations whenever we can including a $3000 donation to Starlight Starbright on 2/28/07.

Some of you might say that Coupons & Cancer are an odd fit, but we believe the only way to make the public aware of the problem is to get the information out there. Providing information on Childhood Cancer to those who are looking for it is great, but it's a little like "preaching to the choir". The only way to really change things is to make people that aren't touched by Childhood Cancer understand how serious the problem is. Maybe then we can start to make a difference.

If you would like to read a more in-depth version of how Alex's Coupons came to be, please check out our About Us page.

Todd & Andrea Martini

Update 8/16/07: Alex is now over 4 years post-2nd transplant and doing well. Visit Alex's Place for more information and updates.