Lemonade Day Offers Youth Entrepreneurial Opportunies

Over the coming few months, Alberta Community Futures will be introducing interested youngsters across northern Alberta to entrepreneurship, culminating in Lemonade Day on June 15.

Lemonade Day is a free, fun, experiential learning program where children from kindergarten through high school learn how to start, own, and operate their very own business—a lemonade stand. Having a lemonade stand is a great way for children to learn about entrepreneurship, finances, customer service, goal setting, and creativity, preparing them for both business and life.

Lemonade Day started in 2007 in Houston, Texas, and since then has reached over 1.5 million children in 90 communities across Canada, the United States, and South Africa. Last year, more than 1,300 children across 13 Alberta Community Futures regions in 51 towns took part in the event. Participants of Lemonade Day keep all the money they earn; however, the program encourages them to spend some, save some, and share some. Many of the children donate a portion of their proceeds to a charity of their choice. Since 2018, northern Alberta’s Lemonade Day children have donated over $35,000 to charities and made over $110,000 in profit.

Each child that registers will attend Lemmy University where they will receive a free backpack with an Entrepreneur Workbook that teaches them the valuable lessons of Lemonade Day, including how to set a goal, make a plan, work the plan, and achieve their dreams. A dedicated instructor will lead the children through the workbook, ensuring they have all the skills they need to become business owners.

Then, on June 15, Lemonade Day participants will set up their stands in front of businesses in participating towns across Northern Alberta, and try their hand at running their business. The program establishes relationships between local businesses and participants as well as participants and their municipalities, while also introducing the concept of philanthropy and giving back to their community. Lemonade Day Northern Alberta is much broader than just one individual child selling lemonade from his or her stand; it’s a process that gets the whole community focused on investing in our youth.

Learn more about Lemonade Day in this quick video: https://youtu.be/7tjpURLCNtc?si=AyEgeId_B3VqQlyw

Lemonade Day’s program builds self-reliance and financial literacy and introduces important business and entrepreneurial skills. Lemonade Day allows youth to experience a new level of confidence and see new possibilities for their future – as the leaders, volunteers, and forward-thinking citizens of tomorrow.

Registration for this year’s program opened on March 1 and will close on May 15. To register for Lemonade Day Northern Alberta, visit https://lemonadeday.org/northern-alberta Additional information can be found on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/LemonadeDayNorthernAlberta/