When Life Gives Aunt Cancer, Boy Makes Lemonade

Alfonso Esqueda was talking to his wife, Marcie, recently about how he was going to raise more than $3,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in honor of his sister, who has cancer. But he wasn’t exactly sure how he was going to do that by mid-August, which was his goal.

He thought of selling candy at the concession stand—anything, really—but he didn’t think he would be able to raise enough in time. As part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training, Esqueda was looking to raise a certain amount to help his sister, who has been battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma for the last nine years.

Fortunately for Esqueda, his 10-year-old son Marc overhead his conversation that day and decided that he wasn’t going to let his dad go it alone.

“I know my daddy wants my auntie to be around,” Marc said. “They talk on the phone everyday, and I know he loves her and will do anything for her.”

So Marc decided to start a lemonade stand last week, selling cups with his friend Max Mingione to passersby on the frequently traveled Crestmoor Drive, hoping to help out his dad in his effort to find a cure for cancer.

By the end of the week, they raised $45 from their freshly squeezed lemonade, infused with a hint of mint. If it wasn’t for the weather dipping in temperature after Wednesday, they would have probably made more.

“He was thinking he would be able to raise all of it because of the hot weather we had on Monday,” Esqueda said. “That day, he made about $25.”

The hardest part, Marc said, was squeezing all the lemons by hand—especially on the first day—for the lemonade, which they sold for a dollar.

“But no matter how hard or how hot it was, it’s nothing compared to what people with cancer have to go through to survive,” Marc said afterward.

His family was amazed by his efforts, where he used nothing but his mind, his hands and his time to do something bigger than himself when he could’ve just been playing video games all day.

“I’m extremely proud that at that young age they’re aware that even a small action like a lemonade stand can make a difference not just for me but for all people with cancer,” said Liliana Sedano, 40, Marc’s aunt who lives in Van Nuys.

After going through chemotherapy three times, Sedano is now in her second year of remission.

For more information about Alfonso Esqueda’s Team in Training efforts, visit his fundraising page at teamintraining.org.