By Liz Heidelberg
The 6th Annual Bryan/College Station Lemonade Day will be held on Sunday, May 1. Samantha and Quincy Smith, owners of “S & Q’s Sweet Deal,” will return to Lemonade Day this year after winning “Entrepreneurs of the Year” in 2015.
“Lemonade Day taught me a lot about running a business,” says Sam, age 9.
“Sam came to me with a business proposal and asked if I would be her investor,” says Kasee Smith, mother of Sam and Quincy. “The girls made some really good business decisions because of guidance from the Lemonade Day Entrepreneur Workbook.”
Lemonade Day, a national program, teaches youth how to own and operate their own business, using a lemonade stand as their main tool. Lemonade Day is a hands-on approach to empowering youth to become business leaders, social advocates, volunteers, and forward-thinking citizens.
“Lemonade Day helps teach our kids how to be the next generation of hard-working, productive, and charitable adults,” explains Lenae Scroggins, founder of Lemonade Day in the B/CS area.
Lemonade Day encourages kids to spend, save, and share the profits from their lemonade stand. “[Last year], we bought our family dinner and put some money in our college fund,” says Sam. “We donated the rest of our money to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research because our grandpa has Parkinson’s disease.”
This year, the girls plan to donate the profits to the American Cancer Society in honor of their grandmother, who was recently diagnosed with cancer. Sam and Quincy will be stationed at the Walgreens on Rock Prairie Road, serving regular lemonade, strawberry lemonade, and Sam’s personal favorite, a mix of both.
GET INVOLVED
If you would like to mentor or participate in Lemonade Day, register at bcs.lemonadeday.org. Once registered, check online for a backpack pick-up location nearest you. Registration is open until May 1.
“I’m so excited to do it again this year!” says Sam.
“Everyone in the community has a job,” says Scroggins, emphasizing the importance of community effort in Lemonade Day. “You’re either out there buying lemonade or helping a kid sell lemonade.”
