Yakima Knows How To Turn Lemons Into Better Business For Kids

Give a man a fish and he'll eat for today...but give a kid a lemon and well...wait, I may have this confused.

The idea is to teach a man how to fish and he'll feed himself for a lifetime.

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Lessons Learned For A Lifetime

And the same idea holds true for the kid with the lemon. Teach them how to be an entrepreneur with a lemonade stand and they will be ahead of the game in business for a lifetime to come.

We're talking about Yakima's Lemonade Day Youth Entrepreneurship Program.  It's part of a global national youth entrepreneurship program that teaches leadership and business skills by encouraging children to launch a lemonade business in their community.

To be honest, a lot of kids make lemonade stands on their own, have fun in the process and maybe even make a few bucks by trial and error...which is great.  BUT with some advanced training, the lessons learned will prove more valuable and even the money earned might be a little more and a little more sweet.

Worldwide Success

Youth entrepreneurship is gaining momentum around the world. Studies have proven that introducing kids to entrepreneurial experiences at an early age makes a measurable impact on their future decisions related to education, training, life, and work.

Since 2007, more than 1 million kids have learned about business ownership by participating in the program and now, even more, Yakima Valley kids can be involved with the announcement that Lemonade Day Youth Entrepreneurship Program is expanding to kids in Yakima County.

You Can Help Make It happen

The First Step is training for Volunteers and Mentors planned for a week from today, June 9th, 2022, from 9:00 am – 11:00 am at Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce 10 N. 9^th St Yakima WA, 98907.

The impact of a program like Lemonade Day is four-fold:

1) teach financial literacy to kids, which is currently absent in school curriculum

2) promote entrepreneurship, which is key to jumpstart economic growth

3) teach kids to be responsible and self-reliant, and to contribute to their community

4) foster mentorship and bring families together.

Here's how it works

The lessons of Lemonade Day include setting a goal, making a plan, working the plan, and achieving their dreams. Once a youth pays their investor back, they keep all the money they earn and are encouraged to spend some, save some, and share some of their profit.

Featured sponsors and partners include Hub, Heritage Bank, Lower Valley Credit Union, Fat beam, CWHCC, CWHBA, Yakima Chief Hops, Pacific Power & Westrock.

Finally, here's a look at Lemonade Day in Action!

To find out more information or to register for Lemonade Day Yakima visit: www.lemonadeday.org/yakima