BY DEBBIE NAZARIAN, LEMONADE DAY NATIONAL DIRECTOR

In 2017, Lemonade Day set out to measure the impact of our program on the youth that participate. We collaborated with the world-renowned Gallup organization, our long-term partner, to compare survey results collected from the Gallup’s Student Poll with Lemonade Day participants. Joe Daly, Senior Partner at Gallup and Valerie Calderon, Ph.D. and Gallup consultant conducted the study to measure:

1. The program’s yearly success through participants and mentors’ self-reported data.
2. How the Lemonade Day lessons learned compare with the four key questions from Gallup’s Student Poll that measure the general population of U.S. students who do not participate in a similar program or other youth entrepreneurship experience.
3. Four key concepts: entrepreneurial aspiration, self-confidence, reasoning and problem-solving skills, and hope.

The results were astonishing and documented in the Lemonade Day 2017 Impact Study.  We were excited to update the Study this year to include data collected from Lemonade Day 2018 and 2019 participant and mentor survey as well as the 2019 and 2019 Gallup Student Poll.

The 2020 Impact Study was created thanks to Gallup, our amazing long-term partner, our national staff, and our research team.  I’m very excited to share that we are putting the final touches on it so we can share it with our City Directors at this year’s National City Director Conference (virtual) this month and then out to all the rest of our wonderful stakeholders!

In the meantime, I have asked Michael Holthouse, Founder of Lemonade Day, Charlie Hamilton, National Lemonade Day Board president, and Joe Daly, Senior Partner at Gallup to share their thoughts and insights on the Impact Study.

From Michael Holthouse, Lemonade Day Founder

“It’s fascinating watching kids go through the Lemonade Day experience. They are making decisions, gaining confidence, making real money, and using 100 percent of their profits to spend, save and share based on their own goals and what they are passionate about. They take risks and dare to dream. They are inspired and inspiring – constantly making a positive and meaningful difference in their communities. The information in this Impact Study clearly outlines the ongoing need for kids to be educated about life and entrepreneurship. We know that Lemonade Day is providing the fundamentals of future successes. Can you imagine how strong our economy will be when our youth entrepreneurs become working adults? I certainly can.”

From Charlie Hamilton, Lemonade Day National board president

“As a child, I cut my entrepreneurial teeth on dreams of making money. I realize not every kid wants to be or will be an entrepreneur, but every kid needs the distinctions on making a profit; values on spending, saving, and sharing that profit, the importance of setting goals and making a plan; and ultimately, achieving a dream. We need to remain steadfast in helping kids achieve something and the Lemonade Day program provides key entrepreneurial and character-building educational and experiential lessons to build their skills.”

From Joe Daly, Gallup Senior Partner and Lemonade Day National board member

“Lemonade stands are a staple of so many kids' lives but Lemonade Day wraps important business education around the lemonade stand concept for a truly rich experiential learning moment for kids. What’s really fascinating is that kids are born with tons of yeses and a lot of entrepreneurial energy from birth. But what is alarming, is that over a child’s educational career, that energy starts to diminish. Lemonade Day is an essential activity to keep that energy and spark alive.”

As the National Director for the past ten years, I am beyond proud of our team and the work we do at Lemonade Day to teach youth how to start and run a real-life business, make their own money, and experience the satisfaction of buying something they need or want on their own. Youth learn how to ask for and repay a business loan, the importance of saving and managing money, and how to give back to their communities through philanthropy.  Maybe most importantly, Lemonade Day instills in them a sense of confidence and belief in themselves that will allow them to reach their full potential in life. 

I’ve watched so many of our Lemonade Day youth grow up over the past 10 years and I am so proud of them- Mikaila Ulmer with her company Me and the Bees Lemonade and new book, Rohit and Sidharth Srinivasan with their company Trashbots that provides low-cost stem education, Katie Vonder Haar and Hailey Hertzman with their company Ooh La Lemon and featured on the Today Show, and many others that have gone on to do amazing things and gain national attention before they even graduated high school.  I am so grateful to everyone who contributed to this new study to provide us with the data to back up what we already know- this is a powerful program and the results can clearly be seen in the countless stories, testimonies, and accomplishments of our Lemonade Day youth!

Find out more about Lemonade Day!

If you would like to learn more about Lemonade Day and see videos from so many of our incredible Lemonade Day superstar youth, please visit LemonadeDay.org.  You can also see the list of cities that offer our Lemonade Day program in the Find My City dropdown.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to me at debbie@lemonadeday.org if you would like to inquire about bringing Lemonade Day to your city!