Lemonade Day A Success In FDL

Congratulations, Fond du Lac, on a successful first year of Lemonade Day! May 2nd was the inaugural Lemonade Day event for the Fond du Lac area, complete with 40 lemonade stands and resulting in nearly $20,000 raised!

More than delicious lemonade, Lemonade Day was the culmination of weeks of learning and hard work. And it all paid off! Each of the student participants received a Lemonade Day backpack that included educational lessons about how to market and run a business. Then on May 2, 2015 students opened and operated their Lemonade “business” and collectively raised nearly $20,000! Through the live experience, they were able to understand the impact of the decisions they made along the way in developing their business plan and they earned real money and used 100% of their profit to spend, save and share based on their business goals.

“Lemonade Day in Fond du Lac motivated a new generation to understand and appreciate the hard work and dedication it takes to operate a business,” explained Melissa Worthington, vice president of the Fond du Lac Area Association of Commerce.

Over 100 kids signed up to run 40 different lemonade stands, including kids from schools, after-school programs, youth organizations, mentoring programs and more. Each young entrepreneur experienced real-life lesson in economics, showcased their own creativity and were celebrated by the entire Fond du Lac community for their entrepreneurial spirit! 

“The students worked hard to prepare for their stands,” said Worthington. “They made posters and prepared the inventory and were excited to see it all come together as they became business owners for the day.” 

In recognizing the hard work of Lemonade Day participants, numerous awards were given including: Best Tasting Lemonade – Teddy’s 24 Karat Lemonade; Best Overall Stand – Alyia’s Awesome and Sweet Lemonade; Best Business – HCM, who’s net profits were $460; Greatest Give Back – Garrett’s Line Drive Lemonade, who donated $165 to the Forest Athletic Club; Most Unique Addition – Mickey, for Gluten Free Additions; Best Slogan – Anika’s Awesome and Sweet Lemonade for Alzheimer’s, with the slogan “I forgot my slogan”; Best Overall Experience at a Stand (Customer Service) – Daisy Delights; Most Customers Served – Lemon Puppies who served 245 customers; Entrepreneur of the Year – Ondrea Stentz; Best Business Partner – Julie Balson of Gallery and Frame.

Lemonade Day, powered by Google, is a project-based learning opportunity that teaches students how to start, own and operate their own small business: a lemonade stand. The 2015 event in Fond du Lac was made possible by numerous supporters and partners, including: the Fond du Lac County Economic Development Corporation, Society Insurance, Kondex Corporation, ACH Foam, First Weber Group, Fond du Lac Morning Rotary, Moraine Park Technical College, wisnet.com, Edward Jones – Dan Sprader. Lemonade Day in Fond du Lac is a program of Fond du Lac Works, a division of the Fond du Lac Area Association of Commerce, for more information visit www.fdlworks.com