![\"10298116_543356359029930_2753234049804137198_owebtop\"](\"https:\/\/lamesacourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/10298116_543356359029930_2753234049804137198_owebtop.jpg\")
<\/a>Pruden, now 14, took that to heart.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe year following her passing I had a lemonade and cookie stand in front of my house and I raised about $900,\u201d Pruden said.<\/p>\n
Ever since then, she has sold cookies and lemonade in front of her house on Memorial Day weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandpa bakes cookies and I make the lemonade,\u201d she said. \u201cI found adding a little orange juice helps the sweetness, but you don\u2019t taste the orange.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since Pruden started her annual fundraiser, she has raised an incredible $30,000, all of which is donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for research.<\/p>\n
Pruden\u2019s goal is to raise $10,000 at this year\u2019s event, which will take place May 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 6821 Rolando Knolls Drive (near 70th Street).<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a challenge at first, because we don\u2019t live on a busy street,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
What the fundraiser might lack in drive-by traffic, it makes up for in spectacle. The street will be closed down during the fundraiser and it becomes a carnival of sorts, with a jumpy (or bounce house), face painting, as well as a raffle and silent auction table.<\/p>\n
\u201cLa Mesita taco shop donates rolled tacos and we\u2019ll have hot dogs,\u201d Pruden said. \u201cThe woman who does the face painting used to live on the street. She\u2019s a professional and she donates all her money to the fundraiser.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition, there will be people from the National Marrow Donor Program on hand to help find people who can donate bone marrow to patients who need it.<\/p>\n The fundraiser may only be four hours, but Pruden, her parents and grandparents, have spent months preparing for it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve done all the baking and made all the lemonade, which is in extra refrigerators belonging to friends and neighbors,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve spent my spare time making dream catchers for everyone who donates more than $50.\u201d<\/p>\n Organizing the event has impacted Pruden\u2019s life almost as much as her Aunt Amy did.<\/p>\n Now a freshman at Patrick Henry High School, where her parents teach Advanced Placement classes, Pruden admits her work on the fundraiser has her thinking about where it might lead.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what I will major in college, but it has made me think about a doing something with speaking, maybe starting a cookie or lemonade business, or work for a non-profit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Of course, she has to get through the fundraiser first.<\/p>\n \u201cI get really stressed before this event, but I really want to find a cure,\u201d Pruden admitted. \u201cThe hardest part isn\u2019t making the cookies or lemonade, but getting my friends to remember to come.\u201d<\/p>\n For more information, check out http:\/\/events.lls.org\/pages\/sd\/sophiascookies<\/a> or \u201cSophia\u2019s Cookies For A Cure 2015<\/a>\u201d on Facebook.<\/p>\n \u2014Alex Owens is a freelance contributor based in La Mesa. <\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By\u00a0Alex Owens<\/p>","protected":false},"author":764,"featured_media":221986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11548","_seopress_titles_title":"La Mesa teen\u2019s bake sale raises thousands for leukemia research","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11548,11551,11550],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-223333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-la-mesa-courier","category-news","category-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/764"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223333\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>
year. (Courtesy Pruden)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n