While May 19, 2018, was the official Lemonade Day for the state of West Virginia, like true business owners, students across the state “opened for business” on a day that worked best for their customers. Beginning in April and continuing through summer, various youth across West Virginia have or will participate in the fifth annual West Virginia Lemonade Day. This nationwide entrepreneurship project, made possible statewide in West Virginia by funding from Vision Shared, has driven entrepreneurship education into K-12 environments and youth organizations for the past six years. To date, the program has reached over 17,000 West Virginia students. Each year, after completing 14 business and entrepreneurial related lessons/activities, students open their own business – a lemonade stand – to put what they’ve learned in to practice and earn profits.
Students at Ona Elementary in Huntington donated their earnings, totaling $541, to Lily’s Place. Lily’s Place is a safe place where babies that are born addicted to drugs can get care and the mothers can get help. Ona students worked for six weeks creating their business plans, advertisements, goal predictions and more. In Preston County, students at Terra Alta/East Preston School held a team competition and raised almost $200. Students there learned that while samples are a good marketing tool, giving away too much leads to running out of your product earlier than expected.
“Lemonade Day is a day when you see the teaching in your classroom and the real world collide,” said Jessie Hescht, 5th grade teacher at Winfield Elementary School. “Our students learn invaluable lessons that they will be able to apply later in life.” Her students earned almost $2,500 that will be donated to the Make a Wish Foundation in memory of former classmate Katie Cobb.
The Girl Scouts of Black Diamond Council’s close to 200 youth participants learned goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics. They will donate a portion of their $500 profit to the local animal shelter, while the remaining will pay for field trips, Girl Scout sashes/vests, and membership fees.
“The most valuable lesson I learned while participating in Lemonade Day was all the hard work it takes to own your own business,” Gilmer County participant Kaydee Martin said, “but the anticipation and then excitement when you make a sale makes all the hard work worth it!” On May 18, 54 students in Gilmer County made $865 from their businesses using teamwork, math skills and, most importantly, people skills.
One of Lemonade Day West Virginia’s longest participating sites, Hamlin PK-8, once again saw great success from their student business owners. Assistant Principal, Lori Huffman, said, “Lemonade Day is one of the best programs available to reach students about being entrepreneurs. It is fun and the educational value is tremendous.” Hamlin students donated nearly $1,000 to the Lincoln County Relay for Life, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, and their school’s playground improvement project.
“Students participating in Lemonade Day continue to amaze me with their success as new business owners,” said Vision Shared President, Cory Dennison. “Their dedication to success and willingness to donate their profits to so many worthwhile organizations is heartwarming.”
Participating programs will continue to host Lemonade Day events throughout the summer. For more information or to get involved with next year’s program, contact Jennifer Wotring, Lemonade Day Director, at wvdirector@lemonadeday.org, (304)-296-9021 ex. 14, or visit www.lemonadeday.org/westvirginia.
