I was driving home from Athens, Georgia last weekend when I spotted the first lemonade stand of the season.
Several children had set up a table by the side of the road and were enthusiastically waving handmade signs that said, “Lemonade! $1!”
Sadly, where they were set up didn’t make it easy to park, but I hope they got some foot traffic.
Lots of children set up lemonade stands this time of year and throughout the summer.
On the Navy base where I grew up, I remember setting up a Kool-Aid stand with some friends one year.
We had a prime location – on the corner of our street. We whipped up lots of cherry Kool-Aid.
We didn’t think about the possibility that people would want to take their drinks with them, so we didn’t have disposable cups, just a bunch of Coca-Cola glasses you got when you bought a root-beer float at McDonald’s. Remember those?
We actually did pretty well, as I remember. Our customers patiently drank their drinks in front of our table, then handed the glasses back to us.
For many young people, setting up a lemonade stand is their first venture into business, and they learn valuable lessons about dealing with customers, supply and demand and more.
Sometimes lemonade stands grow into something bigger. Cancer patient Alexandra “Alex” Scott told her parents that she wanted to set up a lemonade stand to raise money for to find a cure for all children with cancer.
Today, the fundraising organization Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Children’s Cancer carries on Alex’s work in her memory.
So tell us, when you see a lemonade stand, do you drive on by or do you stop and buy some? Maybe just give the kids a donation of a buck or two?
Tell us in the comments!