Life Lessons Sweetened With Lemonade
Lemonade stands have long been an outlet for ambitious kids to learn real-life lessons on how to run a business, but this weekend the lemonade stands that pop up in Montauk, Amagansett, East Hampton, and Sag Harbor will have a somewhat different purpose.
Twelve teens and tweens will split up into teams and take to the beaches and streets with lemonade stands aimed at raising $300,000 for the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter through a program called Leaders and Lemonade. The money will support a few different causes, including programming for senior citizens, a newly revamped area for teen recreation at the RECenter, scholarships for children to attend the Y’s summer camp, and support for the LiveStrong organization to benefit cancer survivors.
“The overall goal of the event is to take the simple concept of a lemonade stand and use it to empower our kids to evoke social change,” Glenn Vickers II, the executive director at the Y.M.C.A. RECenter, said.
The event will span Saturday and Sunday at Indian Wells Beach in Amagansett, Sweet’Tauk Lemonade in Montauk, Halstead Real Estate in East Hampton, and the Variety Store in Sag Harbor. There will also be a lemonade stand on Saturday at Gurney’s Spa and Resort in Montauk and on Sunday at Candied Anchor in Montauk. On Aug. 15 and 16, the lemonade stands will return, with new locations to be announced. Sweet’Tauk, a Montauk company, is donating the lemonade.
The fund-raiser is the culmination of a series of workshops led by local business owners and community leaders as mentors for the kids, who are ages 12 to 14. Among those participating were Sylvia Overby, an East Hampton Town councilwoman, and Donna McCue, an entrepreneur who appeared on the TV show “Shark Tank.” The adults worked with the kids to develop leadership and entrepreneurial skills, communication techniques, hospitality and marketing strategies, and other real-world lessons.
Tia Weiss, 13, of East Hampton, is one of the members of the red team, which will set up its lemonade stand at Indian Wells Beach. She said she really enjoyed the workshops.
“The best part was learning about different jobs that people do, how they do them, how they work with people, and what good habits to have,” she said.
Ms. Weiss said the Leaders and Lemonade program is a great one for kids like her and her friends.
“It’s a good program to be part of,” she said. “We are raising money for the Y.M.C.A., which a lot of people go to. We’re supporting people who don’t have enough money for programs but need them, and I get to be with my friends and be happy.”
On Tuesday, the kids got together to paint the lemonade stands in bright colors they hope will attract customers.
“It’s been a heck of a group effort with all the mentors in the community, the staff at the Y.M.C.A., the kids,” Mr. Vickers said. “It’s been fun to watch. . . . They have really done a great job.”
After this weekend, the kids will regroup to talk about what went right and what went wrong, and make any adjustments necessary before their August lemonade stand dates.
“I think that’s the biggest challenge they’ll face,” Mr. Vickers said. “They’ll learn from any experiences they acquired or mistakes they made, and come back bigger and better in August. You take a life experience, learn from it . . . and move on from there.”