Madison girl raises money for cancer research with lemonade stand

Published: Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013 --- 5:15 p.m.

We've all heard the saying, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Well, one Madison girl is literally doing just that. Heather Fleck, 13, is raising money for the American Cancer Society, and she's doing it with a lemonade stand.

Set up along the Capitol Bike path on the east side, Fleck isn't letting people ride by Saturday afternoon without a cup of her lemonade. But instead of pocketing the change, she's donating it to the Making Strides walk this fall, which benefits breast cancer research.

"I actually have certain family members that are struggling with cancer and a lot of the times, it just feels good to me when I help other people out," Fleck said.

"This is really cool. This doesn't happen very often that someone takes the initiative, like she did, to call us," said Laura Strickland with the American Cancer Society. "She created a website this year, has walked around the neighborhood, has put posters out, and decorated the bike path. So what she's doing is pretty remarkable. So we're very thankful for her efforts."

This isn't Heather's first time helping others out. For the past seven summers, she's used her lemonade recipe and her friendliness to raise money for a number of charities; from the Make a Wish Foundation to tsunami relief.

Throughout the years, she's learned despite the bad things in life, like loved ones getting sick or natural disasters, there's plenty of good out there as well.

"Everybody's really nice," Fleck said. "And a lot of people have smiles on their faces and some of the older people are like, 'bless your heart.' It just makes me feel so good that everybody is like, 'you're doing such a good thing for other people.' And it just puts a smile on my face."

Fleck raised $112, all going to the Making Strides cancer walk. The walk will be held on October 5 at Vilas Park.

Source: http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/Madison-girl-raises-money-for-cancer-research-with-lemonade-stand--218236211.html

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