Students raise $626 from lemonade sales to fight cancer

A group of Top of the World Elementary School students raised $626 from lemonade sales March 11 to battle childhood cancer.

The students, led by teacher Jenny Carlson, studied fundraising, marketing, advertising, public relations and business principles in after-school hours in organizing a lemonade stand, open to classmates, teachers and administrators. Each cup of lemonade cost $1.

“Pretty amazing considering that there are about 640 students in the whole school,” Carlson wrote in an email. “To say the kids were ecstatic is an understatement.”

Carlson started the lemonade stand when she taught at El Morro Elementary School. This was the first year hosting it at Top of the World.

This club began with inspiration from Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a national organization named after Alexandra Scott, who died in 2004 at age 8 from neuroblastoma, a type of pediatric cancer. The nonprofit is dedicated to finding a cure for pediatric cancer.

“Although Alex lost her battle with cancer, her spirit of determination and hope live on through her organization,” Carlson wrote. “Like Alex, we believe that every person can make a difference.”

Alex’s Lemonade Stand has raised more than $120 million since 2005 to fund 550 childhood cancer research projects at 102 top hospitals and institutions in the U.S. and Canada, according to the organization’s website.

All proceeds will benefit research for treatment and cure of the disease.