提要

由拓荒者建立的美國，鼓勵自力更生，許多青少年都有過擺攤賣檸檬水的經歷，有些是自己賺點零用錢；有些孩子則會把檸檬水的利潤用於慈善、回饋社會； 這個特別的孩子，為防治兒童癌症而募集善款，一開始就吸引了北美的美國和加拿大兩國成千上萬的家庭、孩子、企業機構，設立了總數超過二千五百個檸檬水攤位。

解說

艾莉珊卓拉（艾莉）史考特，1996年1月18日在美國康乃迪克州的曼徹斯特出生，是四個孩子中的第二個。

剛滿1歲時，她就被診斷出患有兒童神經母細胞瘤（嬰兒常見癌症）。醫師告訴艾莉的父母，他們認為她再也不會走路了。但僅僅兩周後，艾莉就應父母的要求，略微移動腿、踢了一下。這是她會成為重要人物第一個跡象：有成就大夢想的堅定，是勇敢自信、鼓舞人心的孩子。

到了她的第二個生日，艾莉開始爬行，還能用支架站立，她努力地學走路。在發現腫瘤再次蔓延之前，她似乎都在創造奇蹟。在2000年，也就是她四歲生日的第二天，艾莉接受骨髓移植手術，醫師將新的健康細胞植入，嘗試在治療癌症後長出更多健康細胞。

艾莉對媽媽說：「當我離開醫院時，我想擺一個檸檬水攤位。」她想把賣檸檬水的得到錢捐給醫師，讓他們「幫助其他孩子，因為他們幫助了我」。

正如她所預告的，艾莉在哥哥的幫助之下擺出自己的第一個檸檬水攤，並為「她的醫院」募集到令人驚歎的2000美元。

在勇敢與癌症作奮鬥的同時，艾莉和她的家人繼續每年在自家前院擺檸檬水攤，為兒童早期癌症研究募款。關於這位非凡病童致力幫助他人的新聞廣為流傳，世界各地的人們都為她的故事感動，紛紛擺出自己的檸檬水攤，並將收益捐贈給艾莉和她相關的研究機構。

2004年8月，艾莉結束了她短暫的八年人生，在眾人的幫助下，她籌集了超過一百萬美元，用來幫助找到治愈這種疾病的方法。艾莉的家人和世界各地的支持者成立「艾莉的檸檬水攤」基金會，延續她啟發人性的傳奇。如今基金會已籌集了超過2億美元，並在全美資助1000多個研究項目。

艾莉的父母寫了一本關於她和神奇檸檬水攤的書。她的故事已經啟發人們在美國50個州以及全球10多個國家地區擺檸檬水攤募款，包括遠至日本、巴西和澳洲。

把「檸檬做成檸檬水」的喻意，就是「把酸澀『不好的』，變成美味『很棒的』」。有一句常聽到的鼓勵金句：「當人生給你檸檬時，把它做成檸檬水。」

──部分摘錄艾莉的檸檬水攤網頁

Alexandra"Alex" Scott was born in Manchester, Connecticut on January 18, 1996, the second of four children.

Shortly before her first birthday, Alex was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, the most common type of childhood cancer found in infants under one. Doctors told Alex's parents that they did not think she would ever walk again. Just two weeks later, Alex slightly moved her leg at her parents' request to kick. This was the first sign of who she would turn out to be somebody, a determined, courageous, confident, and inspiring child with big dreams and big accomplishments.

By her second birthday, Alex was crawling and able to stand up with leg braces. She worked hard to gain strength and to learn how to walk. She appeared to be beating the odds, until the discovery that her tumors had started growing again. In 2000, the day after her fourth birthday, Alex received a stem cell transplant, where doctors put new, healthy cells in her body to try and grow more healthy cells after treating her cancer.

Alex told her mother, "When I get out of the hospital I want to have a lemonade stand." She wanted to give the money to doctors to allow them to "help other kids as they helped me."

True to her word, she held her first lemonade stand later that year with the help of her older brother and raised an amazing $2000 for "her hospital".

While bravely battling her own cancer, Alex and her family continued to hold yearly lemonade stands in their front yard to benefit childhood cancer research. News spread of the remarkable sick child dedicated to helping other sick children. People from all over the world, moved by her story, held their own lemonade stands and donated the proceeds to Alex and her cause.

In August 2004, Alex passed away at the age of eight, knowing that, with the help of others, she had raised more than $one million to help find a cure for the disease that took her life. Alex's family and supporters around the world are committed to continuing her inspiring legacy through Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. Today, the Foundation has raised more than $200 million and funded over 1000 research projects across the country.

Alex's parents wrote a book about her and the Amazing Lemonade Stand.

Her story has inspired lemonade stands in all 50 states across America and in more than 10 countries across the world, including places as far away as Japan, Brazil, and Australia.

To make lemonade out of lemons is to take something that is not so good and turn it into something great. As a very common phrase: "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."

-partial quote from ALSF website