Filling a Gap, Making a Difference: Lemonade Day Influences Today’s Youth to Start Businesses of the Future
By Steven Gordon, Lemonade Day National President
“While society innovates, our K-12 schools have remained stagnant. As a result, they are not graduating the doers, makers and cutting-edge thinkers the world needs. Certainly, some public and private schools are modernizing -- having students work in groups to solve problems, learn online and integrate science with the arts. But most institutions do not teach what should be the centerpiece of a contemporary education: entrepreneurship, the capacity to not only start companies but also to think creatively and ambitiously.”
By Florina Rodov and Sabrina Truong, Guest Writers / Entrepreneurs in inner city education
Florina Rodov and Sabrina Truong are the founders of Authentic Manhattan.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245038
Young people in America are not being exposed to entrepreneurial education in primary and secondary schools. At Lemonade Day, we are obsessed with our mission to make a positive difference in the lives of youth by inspiring them today to become business owners and innovators of the future. We believe that kids who participate in Lemonade Day have the potential to be every bit as creative and successful as powerhouses like Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Barbara Corcoran and Sara Blakeley.
Lemonade Day is making an impact. Our youth entrepreneurship program, which started in Houston in 2007, has engaged more than 1 million kids in over 65 licensed territories in the US, Canada and South Africa in the process of learning business and life skills through the experience of hosting a lemonade stand in their own communities. Our goal is to introduce many millions of kids to entrepreneurship, which will ultimately equate to more business startups and more jobs.
Lemonade Day offers tremendous value for the long-term in that it is a strategic, lesson-based program that steps youth through the process of planning and launching a lemonade business while also teaching them principles that are effective for starting any company. Our program ignites the spark of entrepreneurship and empowers youth to set goals, work hard, and achieve their dreams. Adult mentors support kids of kindergarten through fifth grade ages with workbooks that outline the lessons and include helpful checklists. Lemonade Day also teaches kids to spend, save, and share some of their profits by giving back to a cause that matters to them and benefits their community as a whole.
Fundamentally, Lemonade Day national staff, board members, city directors, sponsors, and volunteers are intently focused on an ambitious goal of nurturing small business and microbusiness development (microbusinesses employ 1 to 5 people, whereas small businesses may employ as many as 500 people).
Why are we so passionate about our mission? Because we care not only about kids but also about our society, our economy and our world. More US businesses have closed than opened since 2008. Half of all US small businesses will only survive 5 years. And small businesses create most of the net new jobs in America.
Research indicates that the earlier children are exposed to entrepreneurship, the more likely they are to start businesses at an early stage of their life. Additionally, only 43% of students in K-12 are taught business literacy. Our education system is lacking when it comes to teaching business education and inspiring entrepreneurial activity. Through the experience of owning and running a lemonade stand, Lemonade Day equips and empowers youth with life skills, increased financial and business literacy, improved interpersonal skills, and essential strategies for starting and sustaining a venture in the future.
Please see visit lemonadeday.org for more information and view this short, entertaining video when you get a moment. https://lemonadeday.app.box.com/s/1temq12nk5d0kxdoo0a1k5yxneohd6n5
I welcome your involvement and your comments. Please feel free to email me at steven@lemonadeday.org.
About Lemonade Day
Founded in Houston in 2007 by Michael and Lisa Holthouse, Lemonade Day is a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching every child across North America the business and financial skills that are the key ingredients of entrepreneurship. By learning these skills early in life, children will be better prepared to be successful, financially healthy adults. Through our fun, hands-on program, kids K-5 are empowered to start their very own business—a lemonade stand—and experience the feeling of earning real money, using 100% of their profit to spend, save and share based on their own goals.
Lemonade Day is hosted in 66 territories in North America and growing. Over the past 10 years, we have served more than 1 million kids in our kid entrepreneur programs.
Visit LemonadeDay.org to learn how to participate in Lemonade Day in your city or to donate locally or nationally.
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By Steven Gordon, Lemonade Day National President
“While society innovates, our K-12 schools have remained stagnant. As a result, they are not graduating the doers, makers and cutting-edge thinkers the world needs. Certainly, some public and private schools are modernizing -- having students work in groups to solve problems, learn online and integrate science with the arts. But most institutions do not teach what should be the centerpiece of a contemporary education: entrepreneurship, the capacity to not only start companies but also to think creatively and ambitiously.”
By Florina Rodov and Sabrina Truong, Guest Writers / Entrepreneurs in inner city education
Florina Rodov and Sabrina Truong are the founders of Authentic Manhattan.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245038
Young people in America are not being exposed to entrepreneurial education in primary and secondary schools. At Lemonade Day, we are obsessed with our mission to make a positive difference in the lives of youth by inspiring them today to become business owners and innovators of the future. We believe that kids who participate in Lemonade Day have the potential to be every bit as creative and successful as powerhouses like Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Barbara Corcoran and Sara Blakeley.
Lemonade Day is making an impact. Our youth entrepreneurship program, which started in Houston in 2007, has engaged more than 1 million kids in over 65 licensed territories in the US, Canada and South Africa in the process of learning business and life skills through the experience of hosting a lemonade stand in their own communities. Our goal is to introduce many millions of kids to entrepreneurship, which will ultimately equate to more business startups and more jobs.
Lemonade Day offers tremendous value for the long-term in that it is a strategic, lesson-based program that steps youth through the process of planning and launching a lemonade business while also teaching them principles that are effective for starting any company. Our program ignites the spark of entrepreneurship and empowers youth to set goals, work hard, and achieve their dreams. Adult mentors support kids of kindergarten through fifth grade ages with workbooks that outline the lessons and include helpful checklists. Lemonade Day also teaches kids to spend, save, and share some of their profits by giving back to a cause that matters to them and benefits their community as a whole.
Fundamentally, Lemonade Day national staff, board members, city directors, sponsors, and volunteers are intently focused on an ambitious goal of nurturing small business and microbusiness development (microbusinesses employ 1 to 5 people, whereas small businesses may employ as many as 500 people).
Why are we so passionate about our mission? Because we care not only about kids but also about our society, our economy and our world. More US businesses have closed than opened since 2008. Half of all US small businesses will only survive 5 years. And small businesses create most of the net new jobs in America.
Research indicates that the earlier children are exposed to entrepreneurship, the more likely they are to start businesses at an early stage of their life. Additionally, only 43% of students in K-12 are taught business literacy. Our education system is lacking when it comes to teaching business education and inspiring entrepreneurial activity. Through the experience of owning and running a lemonade stand, Lemonade Day equips and empowers youth with life skills, increased financial and business literacy, improved interpersonal skills, and essential strategies for starting and sustaining a venture in the future.
Please see visit lemonadeday.org for more information and view this short, entertaining video when you get a moment. https://lemonadeday.app.box.com/s/1temq12nk5d0kxdoo0a1k5yxneohd6n5
I welcome your involvement and your comments. Please feel free to email me at steven@lemonadeday.org.
About Lemonade Day
Founded in Houston in 2007 by Michael and Lisa Holthouse, Lemonade Day is a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching every child across North America the business and financial skills that are the key ingredients of entrepreneurship. By learning these skills early in life, children will be better prepared to be successful, financially healthy adults. Through our fun, hands-on program, kids K-5 are empowered to start their very own business—a lemonade stand—and experience the feeling of earning real money, using 100% of their profit to spend, save and share based on their own goals.
Lemonade Day is hosted in 66 territories in North America and growing. Over the past 10 years, we have served more than 1 million kids in our kid entrepreneur programs.
Visit LemonadeDay.org to learn how to participate in Lemonade Day in your city or to donate locally or nationally.
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