The 9-year-old set up her bright yellow stand in front of her rural, Reedley home along Buttonwillow Avenue. She recruited her mom, Jennifer and family friend, Skylar, to flag down thirsty drivers. But Alison is offering more than just a cold drink, she's selling what she calls, Cups for a Cure as part of the national, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.
The charity was started by Alex Scott of Connecticut who raised over a million dollars for cancer research before she passed away in 2004. Alison is pouring her efforts into that continued goal.
Alison said, "I'm always looking for a project to do and sometimes I just do lemonade stands for myself but this time I thought it would be nice to do something different."
Alison's mom says her daughter has become outspoken about the cause. She said, "And talking to the people in town and also people who come here about Alex's story and what we can do a dollar at a time to make a difference so I'm very proud of her."
And customers have squeezed their wallets, often donating more. In four days, Alison raised $200, so she raised her goal to $500.
Alison's lemonade stand has truly become a community effort. In fact, local farms and family friends have dropped off fresh lemons to make fresh-squeeze, lemonade.
Alison also offers lemon pudding cake and lemon drops to her customers to sweeten the deal.
Alison says every cup could be one more step to finding a cure. She said, "It makes me feel good cause I'm helping someone survive cancer."
