Valley boy turns lemonade into money for cancer research

It takes a lot of water, sugar and lemons and work to make 74 gallons of lemonade. But P.J. Bartos isn’t complaining.

“It’s because I just like it and have fun doing it,” Bartos said.

This is the fifth year Bartos has sold lemonade to raise money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a group started in 2000 by 4-year-old cancer patient Alexandra “Alex” Scott.

Scott wanted to use the stand to raise money to help find a cure for cancer in children. So far, it’s raised more than $60 million. In Peoria, Bartos has raised more than $14,000.

“My goal is to raise $50,000 by the time I graduate from high school,” he said.

Bartos started with a stand in his driveway, but after a couple of years he needed more room and moved to Trilogy Golf Club at Vistancia. Word spread and this year, MidFirst Bank is matching coin donations.