Pledge to make a difference, together.

Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation

333 EAST LANCASTER AVE 414,
WYNNEWOOD, PA 19096-1929,
USA

Donate Start Fundraiser

$55,338 raised via 1517 donations

Our Mission

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) is changing the lives of children with cancer by funding impactful research, raising awareness, supporting families and empowering everyone to help cure childhood cancer.

When Alex, who was diagnosed with childhood cancer just before her first birthday, was 4, she told her parents she wanted to set up a front yard lemonade stand. Her plan: to give the money to doctors to help them find a cure. Her first “Alex’s Lemonade Stand,” held with the help of her older brother Patrick, raised an astonishing $2,000 in one day. While bravely fighting her own cancer, Alex continued to set up lemonade stands every year. As news spread of the remarkable girl so dedicated to helping other sick children, people everywhere were inspired to start their own lemonade stands — donating the proceeds to her cause.

In 2004 when Alex passed away at the age of 8 — her stand and inspiration had raised more than $1 million towards finding a cure for the disease that took her life. Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) was started by her parents in 2005 to continue the work that Alex began. Our mission is simple: to change the lives of children with cancer through funding impactful research, raising awareness, supporting families and empowering everyone to help cure childhood cancer.

Since Alex set up her first lemonade stand in 2000 — truly exemplifying the saying “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade” — we have raised more than $250 million. That money has helped to: - Fund more than 1,000 cutting-edge research projects at nearly 150 institutions. - Create a Travel For Care program to help support families of children receiving treatment and develop resources, such as our SuperSibs program to help people everywhere affected by childhood cancer.

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation is the living embodiment of Alex’s spirit of determination and hope. Like Alex, we believe that every person can make a difference. Together, we can bring about a cure. Please join us in “making lemons into lemonade” today!

How Your Donations Help

  • $50 funds 1 hour of research in the United States
  • $500 funds over 1 day of research in the United States
  • $1,000 helps 1 family travel to treatment

Our Impact

A
Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation posted an impact story

Marcel is a smart and caring 6-year-old with enough energy to spare. He is a major dog lover but extends his love to animals he hasn’t met too, like sharks and dinosaurs. He is a big fan of Sonic the Hedgehog and Disney’s Cars, which are fun to watch while playing with his Hot Wheels. Marcel loves to cheer for the 49ers when it comes to football, but he enjoys basketball too. His family on the other hand, is more focused on cheering for Marcel, since he is battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Marcel was only 2 years old when his parents started noticing some strange patterns. Their usually steady son would suddenly fall over while walking or running. What they amounted to big shoes became a bigger issue when Marcel became inconsolable at night. He grew feverish and started throwing up to make matters worse, but a trip to Urgent Care and some blood work yielded no results. It wasn’t until Marcel saw his aunt – who works as an oncology nurse at UCLA – that he returned to the emergency room with severely low hemoglobin levels. Three blood transfusions later, Marcel was diagnosed with cancer. Soon after, he began chemotherapy treatment. When Marcel pulled out his PICC line, he received a port placement. His parents needed to give him blood thinner injections to avoid clots, and every three months he underwent a lumbar puncture. He quickly lost his hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes, but nothing could take away Marcel’s energy. He just kept smiling. Today, Marcel is without his port and in remission. As he soars into first grade, his family prays he stays that way. Their wish is to see Marcel grow old and live out his dream of becoming a firefighter. Through his journey, Marcel has demonstrated enough love, compassion, and strength to show his family that even the worst situation can be seen in a new light. Already, he is proving to be quite the fighter! Marcel’s mom, Ana, wants to remind others struggling with a pediatric cancer diagnosis that they are never alone. She insists that parents become a rock for their hero, but she also wants people to know that it is okay to ask for help. You can ask questions to stay involved in your child’s treatment or reach out to other families to share your fears and find comfort. Ana believes that prayer is the greatest gift, and it helps to unwind. Their family is grateful that Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation was able to assist them with gas cards to ensure that they never missed an appointment. With much bigger things on their minds, it meant a lot to have one less thing to worry about. Marcel’s parents know that there is light at the end of the tunnel, but they also feel that the best way to make it there is simple. They say, “love your child, and hug them every day.”

A
Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation posted an impact story

Lakelynn is 6 years old. She loves horses, Barbies, singing, shopping at Target and hosting lemonade stands in her home state of North Carolina. When she was 3 years old, she began complaining about a “boo-boo” in her arm. Her first X-ray showed nothing. But Lakelynn kept having pain—which at this point had gotten so intense that it was affecting her sleep. The pediatrician suggested that maybe Lakelynn was using this as an excuse to avoid bedtime. However, her parents knew there was something more to the story. Lakelynn’s pain was in the exact same spot—it seemed bigger than just a behavioral problem. Trusting their instinct, her parents, Leslie and Mike, saw an orthopedic specialist and asked for another X-ray, which showed a spot. That spot led to an MRI. The MRI showed a tumor wrapped around the nerves that control Lakelynn’s right arm. At first, no one knew how to treat Lakelynn. The location of the tumor made it both inoperable, and dangerous to radiate. Even a biopsy was risky because of the potential of nerve damage. But, they needed a tissue sample, so a biopsy was performed without incidence. Samples were sent to pathologists all over the country who characterized it as a type of sarcoma, but were unable to give a clear diagnosis that could inform a treatment plan. While the family waited for answers, Lakelynn began medication to manage the intense pain in her arm. By now, Lakelynn had stopped using her right arm altogether. Meanwhile, Lakelynn’s oncologist also had the family send a sample off for advanced genomic testing to look at the RNA of the tumor. This testing revealed her tumor harbored the NTRK gene fusion. Luckily, one of the doctors reviewing Lakleynn’s case knew of a clinical trial for kids with cancer driven by this mutation. Within 48 hours, Lakelynn was in Boston and began a clinical trial led by Dr. Steven DuBois at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, an ALSF Center of Excellence grant institution. Lakelynn has been on the clinical trial for nearly three years. The trial drug, larotrectinib shrunk Lakelynn’s tumor significantly. Lakelynn continues to have stable disease and travels to Boston once a month for follow-ups and medication. The drug has minimal side effects--as compared to conventional treatment. For now, Lakelynn is still searching for her cure, but the clinical trial has made it possible for her to go from being a little girl in pain to a little girl who loves going to school and celebrating Christmas, with a big, beautiful smile.

Causes We Support

Countries We Serve

Do you work for this organization?

Join as an official member!

What Can You Do to Help?

Fundraising for an organization will help them help the world.

Get Started