Merrill Gardens Retirement Community is hosting a benefit drive-through lemonade stand today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Proceeds will go to the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, which raises money while providing awareness of childhood cancer causes and conducting research on new treatments and cures.

Merrill Gardens is located at 430 N. Union Road, Manteca.

The lemonade stand was founded in 2000 by Alexandra Scott, who, at the time, was a 4-year-old youngster from Manchester, Conn.

She was diagnosed with a childhood cancer at an earlier age.

With help from her older brother Patrick, Scott raised over $2,000 during that first-ever Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

She continued to do the lemonade stand each year while battling cancer.

Sadly, Scott succumbed to her illness at age 8 in 2004. But by then, she had raised over $1 million for cancer research.

Her parents continued Alex’s Lemonade Stand the following year, thus, setting up the foundation.

“Her works lives on as people across the country host lemonade stands to help fight cancer, one cup at a time,” said Merrill Gardens general manager Cheryl Martin.

For more information, call Merrill Gardens at 209-823-0164.

To obtain more information on Alex’s Lemonade Stand, click on to www.alexslemonade.org.