Olivia Steffensmeier raises money for childhood cancer charity ALSF

The rain didn’t stop one 8-year-old girl from hosting a lemonade stand for a childhood cancer charity Saturday.

Olivia Steffensmeier of West Des Moines and her family hosted a lemonade stand at the Mills Civic Parkway ALDI on Saturday to help raise money for childhood cancer as part of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) for Childhood Cancer.

Olivia was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer, just a day before her sixth birthday in 2021. It started out as a swollen lymph node and it was thought to be a sinus or ear infection, but it was quickly figured out it was something more.

“Everything in the beginning went really fast once they figured out that it was a mass and not an infection,” Haylie Steffensmeier said. “In total, she had 66 weeks of chemotherapy, and within that, she had 20 days of radiation where we stayed at Mayo, and so it was really intensive.”

Olivia was declared cancer-free and rang the bell at the Blank Children’s Hospital in January 2023.

“Cancer is a bit scary at the beginning, but the doctors and nurses were my favorite part, and I learned a lot about helping other kids with cancer,” Olivia said.

Since her diagnosis, Olivia has hosted ASLF lemonade stands. This will be her and her family’s fourth time setting up shop at the ALDI on Mills Civic Parkway, where her grandfather is the manager.

“We know exactly what we’re doing when it comes to selling lemonade,” Haylie Steffensmeier said.

ALDI, a supporter of ASLF, hosts these lemonade stand fundraisers. They have been partners for six years, starting in 2018, and have donated $1 million annually. Since the partnership began, ALDI has donated $6 million and has the goal of donating a total of $10 million by the end of 2027.

“ALDI wants to show up and support our communities in a variety of different ways,” Jason Schultz, ALDI’s national sustainability manager said. “It’s part of our commitment to help support national and regional and local initiatives that are making meaningful differences in children’s health and wellness.”

ALDI donated an additional $10K to ALSF in the family’s name.

What is the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation?

It started when Alexandra Scott, 4 years old at the time, wanted to set up a lemonade stand. She wanted to raise money “to find a cure” for cancer. She was diagnosed just after her first birthday. She raised $2,000 on the first day she set up.

By 2004, she reached her goal of raising $1 million. She passed away later that year at 8 years old.

Alex’s parents continued the lemon stand and created the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation in 2005. Since then, according to the ASLF website, over $300 million has been raised and it has become the largest childhood cancer charity in the U.S.

ASLF has also funded 1,500-plus research projects at nearly 150 institutions across North America and Europe and has supported nearly 30,000 families through key programs like Travel For Care, helping cover costs so families can access treatments their kids need.

This year is the 20th anniversary of Alex’s passing. June is known as “Lemonade Days” by the organization, and hosts most of its lemonade stand fundraisers during the month.

“Doing lemonade stands with ALSF is important to me because I want to help raise money to find a cure for childhood cancer and help the kids and families in the hospitals with cancer,” Olivia said.

Kyle Werner is a reporter for the Register. Reach him at [email protected].