Kids learn entrepreneur skills at Lemonade Day

By BRITTANY FHOLER

Cove Leader-Press

Hundreds of kids set up lemonade stands throughout Copperas Cove and surrounding areas on Saturday and Sunday for National Lemonade Day, which was May 4.

The kids spent the last few months learning all they can about business and entrepreneurship to prepare for the day or days they would set up their own lemonade stand, with the purpose of earning money to save, spend and donate.

Kids of all ages set up shop in front of their homes or in front of local businesses such as Raising Cane’s, Walmart, McAlister’s Deli, Bill French Jewelers, Walgreens, Bits and Bits Cake Shop, Grill Daddy, Pet Supplies Plus and more.

The Copperas Cove Leader-Press hosted its own entrepreneur, with Dalton Stafford’s “Palapa Tropicala” lemonade stand set up in the parking lot. Stafford’s Tropical Sunrise lemonade won “Most Unique” at the Fort Hood Area Best Tasting Lemonade Contest earlier. Stafford was set up both Saturday and Sunday with his friend, Lucas Williams, 13, and family members, offering lemonade for $1, peach or mango lemonade for $2 or the contest winner Tropical Sunrise lemonade for $4. For $5, customers could get a Tropical Sunrise lemonade plus two white chocolate macadamia and coconut cookies, and a certificate for a 12-month subscription to the Leader-Press newspaper.

A portion of the money raised will be donated to the ASPCA and local animal shelters, Stafford said.

Over at Home Base, Matthias Ulch, 12, and Elijah Haverkost, 11, sold “Mighty Incredible Lemonade” from their helicopter stand, complete with a spinning rotor, that they made themselves. The two boys were inspired by the military, with Ulch’s dad being an active duty Army soldier and Haverkost’s dad being a retired Army veteran.

It was a hit with the shoppers of HomeBase, many of whom just had to stop and find out what the boys were doing.

They participated in the Best Tasting Lemonade contest last month, entering their Texas National Guard lemonade, which is lemonade with hot sauce, “because we believe that Texas has a kick,” Haverkost said.

Other lemonade flavors were named after the other branches of the military- a blue raspberry lemonade for the Air Force, a blueberry lemonade for the Navy, a strawberry lemonade for the U.S. Marine Corps, a mix of Sprite and lemonade for the Coast Guard and a classic lemonade with a black licorice straw for the Army.

They also sold cupcakes and bottled water. For $8.50, customers could buy a canteen filled with their choice of lemonade.

The two boys wanted to donate a portion of their proceeds to a local animal shelter but hadn’t yet decided on which one yet, according to Haverkost.

“I just hate seeing animals without a home, and I feel like giving them a home is like being a father to them or like a mother to them, so you’re giving them a home in your heart,” Haverkost said.

Riley Tomblin, 8, set up her stand, Riley’s Lemonade, on the sidewalk in front of her house on Miranda Ave Saturday morning. Her goal was $70, to spend at SeaWorld when she goes with her Girl Scout troop, #6226. She offered regular lemonade and lavender lemonade plus sweet treats. She said she chose lavender lemonade because her favorite color is purple.

Tomblin learned how much work goes into squeezing lemonade and learned how to infuse lavender to add to her lemonade.

“She’s learning about money, she’s learning about hard work and turning her hard work into money and that’s an important skill,” said her mom Stacy Tomblin-Weaver. “And I really like having her out in the community and meeting new people and participating in something like this with her community.”

In front of the Bush’s Chicken Headquarters Office at the Cove Terrace Shopping Center, Five Hills Junior Ambassador Naomi Williams and her brothers, Warren and Malachi, made up Rivalry Lemonade, where they sold regular, mango, cherry lime and lavender lemonade plus sweet treats and more. They chose to donate a portion of their proceeds to the Southside Church of Christ youth group in Killeen. They also sold wooden rainbow roses for Noah’s Rainbow.

Over at McAlister’s Deli, the Schroeder and Siddoway children manned their Sweets 4 a Cure stand, selling t-shirts and suckers instead of the usual lemonade.

Michaela, 6, and Cameron Schroeder, 8, joined Kate, 5, and Leila Siddoway 7, in front of McAlister’s Deli to sell suckers and t-shirts to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Kate and Leila’s mom, Kelsey Siddoway, explained that they had participated in Lemonade Day in the past and wanted to continue this year but do something different. Suckers were $0.50 and a dollar and t-shirts were $10. Siddoway’s twin one-year-old sons, Miles and James, both have Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system, where the body produces mucus that can clog the lungs.

“The age expectancy at one point was they wouldn’t live through their first year of life and they’re currently living through to their 40s, so they’re coming, they’re getting so close,” Siddoway said.

This year marked the third year the Siddoway children had participated in Lemonade Day and the first year for the Schroeder children.

“It’s a great opportunity for them to learn that things are not just about them,” Siddoway said. “And it takes hard work. We don’t come out here to play, you have to work to do it.”

For more information on Lemonade Day, visit https://lemonadeday.org/fort-hood-area.