HUNTERDALE—Cooper Bass had a simple explanation why she opened up a lemonade stand this past Saturday.

“To help little kids that have cancer,” she said quietly on Monday while hugged by her mother, Kimberly Bass.

For the second year in a row, Cooper, 6, set up the site through the help of Anthem LemonAid, which is a fundraising arm of Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in Norfolk. The organization provides kits. These include not only the lemonade mix, cups and pitcher, but also signage to promote the refreshment stand.

At $1 a cup, Cooper sold $501 worth of lemonade that day on the corner of Storys Station and Bethel roads.

But it was not a connection to any other child that inspired the youngster.

Kimberly explained that when Cooper was 4, her father — Jesse J. Bass — was diagnosed with neuroendrocrine pancreatic cancer. He died in early March this year.

“It opened her eyes to the workings of cancer, and that not just adults get the terrible disease,” she said, adding that children endure the same thing Jesse went through after his diagnosis.

So Cooper decided to do something and she found out about the Anthem LemonAid program. Her father and a friend built the stand and painted it electric green with hot pink polka dots.

That first year Cooper raised $275 that would be devoted to helping children with cancer in one form or another.

Of course, family and friends dropped by for a cup.

Elvin Thomas, a neighbor, enjoyed three servings.

“It was good, yes,” he confirmed about the lemonade.

“Then two police stopped by,” said Kimberly. “She was so excited.”

The stand has already been dismantled and stored away for next year.

The check for $501 was mailed off on Monday morning.