Registration and backpack pickup events will be held throughout the month at libraries and community events.
Friday (April 8), 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., at the Charles B. Washington Library, 2868 Ames Ave.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Saddlebrook Library, 14850 Laurel Ave.; 10 a.m. to noon at the Millard Library, 13214 Westwood Lane; and noon to 2 p.m. at the Willa Cather Library, 1905 S. 44th St.
Tuesday, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Jump with Jill! at the Lewis and Clark Middle School auditorium, 6901 Burt St. Visit www.omahaafterschool.org/upcoming-events for more information.
If you're thirsty for a cool glass of lemonade on May 1, there's a good chance you won't have to go far to find one.
Organizers of an event that aims to get young people interested in entrepreneurship and community involvement hope there will be more than 3,000 Omaha-area children and teens lined up that day in parks, front yards and on sidewalks — all of them selling sweet drinks.
It's the first time Omaha has been a part of Lemonade Day, a project started four years ago in Houston by a group called Prepared 4 Life. It's now been adopted by nearly 30 cities in the U.S. and Canada.
In Omaha, the effort is being led by Mayor Jim Suttle's office, with help from Creighton University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the Midlands Mentoring Partnership and Building Bright Futures.
The goal, said Jessie Bowman, the City of Omaha's Lemonade Day director, is to give kids a real-world lesson in building a business, as well as to provide adults with a chance to share their skills and experiences with young people.
City officials “found the Lemonade Day program and thought it was a great way to build on life and job skills,” she said.
The program is free and open to young people in elementary, middle and high school, who can either sign up as individuals or through programs at schools, churches and community organizations.
After they've registered, participants get a backpack filled with workbooks on all aspects of getting started in business, from customer service and marketing to choosing a location. They are directed to find an investor — perhaps a parent or other family member — who can provide the resources to buy the materials for a lemonade stand.
Participants can register either in person at the Omaha Public Library or online.
The formal registration and backpack pickup events kick off today and will continue through the month.
Bowman said event planners hope to get at least 3,500 young people signed up.
So far, organizers have raised about $18,000 from partner agencies and individual and business donors, but Bowman said they'd like to get that number to about $30,000.
Suzi Yokley-Busby, student engagement coordinator for UNO and Building Bright Futures, said there are plenty of ways to get involved — by lending the $20 to get started or by partnering with a kid at a stand, “teaching them how you look somebody in the eye and ask if they want to buy lemonade.”
Yokley-Busby said the young entrepreneurs will be encouraged to divide up the money in three ways: to pay back their investor keep a little for themselves and then give some back to the community.
Last year, Lemonade Day participants in Houston gave more than $1 million to charity groups and community organizations.
“That's all because of a small idea about a lemonade stand,” she said. “It's kind of amazing, to think of the level of empowerment that can come out of something like this.”
Contact the writer:
402-444-1543, erin.golden@owh.com
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