One Girl, One Idea, One Big Dream - Alex's lemonade stand

One of my favorite stories over and over in the book is uh there's a story about young Alexandra Scott she goes by Alex and Alex when she was barely a year old she was diagnosed with cancer and that was the only life she knew chemotherapy and surgery and sickness and when she was four years old she wants to open up a lemonade stand i her frony yard she doesn't want to use it to buy toys for herself she wants to take the money and give it to doctors to help other kids with cancer within a single day Alex's lemonade stand raises two thousand dollars but here's what I love suddenly other lemonade stand start opening up all with Alex's name on them and the she sets a new goal she says let's raise a million dollars on June twelfth two thousand and four hundreds of lemonade stands open up in every state in the country ordinary people selling water and sugar and lemons to help kids with cancer and nearly two months later Alex died she's eight years old when she dies her parents are holding her hands as she dies and she says right before she dies that next years goal shoud be five million dollars to this day Alex's lemonade stand has raised over forty five million dollars and it is till going strong one girl one idea one big dream that's a hero for my daughter oh boy that says it all doesn't it let me ask you before we specifically go to some of the heroes how do you envision some of the heroes may change for girls over the next twenty or thirty years you know I think it's interesting um there's actually been a lot of talk right now as to what it means to be a mother what does it mean to be successful can a woman have it all you know that's the phrase right can a woman have it all and I think it's a fascinating debate but as much as I want to say my son's no different fro my daughter I'm going to absolutely treat them the same my daughter just by being a woman is going to have a harder life she just is right women earn less they're uh they have to deal with other things that men will never deal with my son will never have to deal with that work home balance and you know a friend of mine was telling me as I was reading this article recently that women will are concerned more and work harder and worry more and stress more over are they putting enough time in their family and compared to how their job is and no matter how great a dad I want to be men just don't do it and sweat those details like women do that's right and I think that in a strange way the hero that we're going to see as we go forward in the next twenty years are those women who have figured out that and who have figured out how and you know what I think the other part of the answer is It's we're going to also see people respecting the heroes who are at home with us This excerpt is brought to you by the Massachusetts School of Law