Members of the Gamma Sigma Sigma sorority at Southeast Missouri State University are hoping to turn lemons into lemonade -- and cash that will help fight pediatric cancer.

The Lemon Carnival, the first of what the sorority hopes will be an annual fundraising event, will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 13 on the Academic Terraces at Southeast.

Money raised from the event will benefit Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.

"We have planned a lemon carnival for Alex's Lemonade Stand to educate our fellow students on childhood cancer," said Gamma Sigma Sigma service vice president Alexandra Kaufman.

The foundation began as a simple lemonade stand in Alexandra "Alex" Scott's front yard in Manchester, Conn. Scott was born Jan. 18, 1996, and was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancer that usually occurs in children and infants and develops from nerve tissue, shortly after.

According to the foundation's website, in 2000, 4-year-old Scott received a stem cell transplant and told her mother she wanted to set up a lemonade stand when she left the hospital. Scott wanted to give the money to doctors to allow them to help other kids like her. Later that year, with the help of her older brother, her lemonade stand raised $2,000.

During Scott's battle with cancer, her family held yearly front-yard lemonade stands to benefit childhood cancer research. News spread, and people from all around the world held lemonade stands and donated the proceeds to Alex's Lemonade Stand.

Scott passed away at age 8 in 2004, and the organization since has become a national fundraising movement. The foundation has raised more than $50 million, funding more than 200 pediatric cancer research projects nationwide.

The April 13 event at Southeast will include games and organizational questionnaires for participants to complete for the opportunity to win prizes. Donations will be collected.

"There will be various booths, including a free lemonade stand, lemon-tossing contest, lemon-eating/squeezing contest and a seek-and-find for lemons," Gamma Sigma Sigma event chair Jenny Pearl said.

There will also be booths with informational pamphlets about Alex's Lemonade Stand, pediatric cancer and a donation center.

"If students answer questions at this booth, they will gain chips to advance them in the games and give them special additives for their lemonade," Pearl said.

Pearl said the goals of the Lemon Carnival are to increase students' awareness of Alex's Lemonade Stand, to educate students on the foundation and the people it benefits and to promote one of Gamma Sigma Sigma's five national service partners--Alex's Lemonade Stand.

To learn more about Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, visit alexslemonade.org.