As a little kid in Leadville, Colorado, we had the perfect spot for a lemonade stand.
Right at the end of our street, on a visible corner, there was a huge, gray, perfectly rectangular rock. I always thought it looked kind of like an elephant at rest. The back of that elephant rock was the best place to set up plastic cups and a pitcher of Kool-Aid lemonade.
That was so long ago that I don’t even remember if we actually sold any lemonade. I’m pretty sure, however, that I never did anything as admirable with my earnings as Alexandra “Alex” Scott did with hers.
I learned about the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation this week after receiving a box of candy from Mike and Ike. The company that makes Mike and Ike, JustBorn, have introduced a new flavor called “Lemonade Blends.” A portion of the proceeds will go to ALSF.
According to the ALSF Web site, Alex’s parents founded the non-profit organization after their daughter died of neuroblastoma at the age of 8. But by then, she had already helped raise almost $1 million to help fight juvenile cancer.

Alex’s fundraising began when she was 4 years old and had already been fighting her disease for a couple of years. One day, she decided to set up a lemonade stand in her front yard and give the proceeds to the doctors at her hospital. She earned $2,000 that day, and the community soon joined the effort.
Now, organizations all over the country donate the proceeds from their lemonade stands to ALSF. The foundation has set a very reasonable goal of $5 million per year for the next five years.
You can learn more about Alex Scott and the foundation on their Web site. Maybe you’d even like to organize your own lemonade stand to fight childhood cancers.
If you’re just looking to satisfy a sweet tooth, I’d still recommend the new Mike and Ike flavor. We’ve been munching on them in the Features department for a couple of days. Did you know that Mike and Ike are made by the same company that makes Peeps? Come to think of it, Lemonade Blends are a mix of very pretty pastel shades — just perfect for somebody’s Easter basket.