Kerman girl with brain cancer launches lemonade stand fundraiser

Savanah “Sevy” Velasquez turned a lemonade stand into a community campaign in Kerman, joining Fruta Fresca Ice Cream Shop at Valley Shopping Center to raise money for childhood brain cancer research and launch a new ice cream flavor. The 9-year-old has spent nearly her entire life in treatment, and this fundraiser brought neighbors, customers and first responders into the middle of her fight.

The sale ran Sunday, June 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Fruta Fresca, 280 S. Madera Ave. in Kerman, with virtual donations accepted as well. Sevy teamed up with shop owner Yazmine Enriquez, whom she describes as a close friend, and the effort was built to extend last year’s event, which raised $3,800 for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Janell Velasquez said the family hoped to make the stand an annual tradition and was aiming much higher this time, with a target of $100,000.

Valley Children’s Healthcare said Sevy was diagnosed with a low-grade glioma at 10 months old. The tumor is on her optic nerve and has caused significant visual impairment, and Janell Velasquez said a seizure three weeks before the fundraiser forced the family to consider new chemotherapy options while also navigating insurers and other logistics. Much of Sevy’s care has taken place at Valley Children’s Hospital, where she has spent nearly her entire life in treatment.

The fundraiser also reflected how much support has gathered around the family in Fresno County. Valley Children’s serves a 45,000-square-mile region in Central California, and last year’s lemonade stand drew local police officers, firefighters and sheriff’s deputies. Clash Coffee in Oakhurst donated the lemonade for that first event, helping turn a child’s idea into a larger community effort that stretched well beyond Kerman.

The cause reaches far outside one city block. The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation says it has funded childhood brain cancer research at major institutions around the world since 1991, underscoring how local money can connect to national research efforts. National advocacy groups continue to argue that pediatric cancer receives only a small share of federal cancer research dollars, which is why a Kerman stand can matter far beyond the cups sold on a summer afternoon.