Chicago Proud: 8-year-old Leukemia survivor helps others battling disease

A first grader who's in remission after battling Leukemia is helping others fight childhood cancer, one glass of lemonade at a time.

Anna Ciamarra is turning lemonade into donations, hoping to raise $10,000 to help kids fighting cancer.

"You just use lemons, sugar and water," the 8-year-old said of her simple recipe.

But Anna and her family said it goes a long way.

"Last year we raised $15,000," said Anna's mom, Ruth Ciamarra. "It's a tremendous labor of love from our family through our schools and church and community in Elmhurst. It's been fantastic."

The Ciamarra family is familiar with what the families they're trying to help are going through. Anna was diagnosed with High Risk T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at only 5 years old.

But Anna fought hard and in February received the news she had been dreaming of: her cancer was in remission.

"I was just happy excited because I knew that she had fought her battle with cancer and she had won," said sister Claire Ciamarra.

Though she's in remission, Anna said her mission is far from over. She's continuing to fight against childhood cancer using a lemonade stand to raise money for Alex's Lemonade Stand, a national childhood cancer nonprofit. Customers were lined up all afternoon.

"There's been a lot of action so far, so we're hoping for some more," said Erin Dubusky, a patron of the lemonade stand. "The police and the firefighters were here earlier and of course a lot of customers."

Anna had her sights set high, telling ABC7's Megan Hickey she hoped to raise $1 million.