2012 Lemonade Day Alaska

Alaska's youth and business owners spanning from Anchorage to Barrow to Ketchikan are gearing up for the second annual Lemonade Day Alaska on May 6, 2012. Online registration kicks off Thursday, March 1, with several additional registration and workshop events scheduled to take place leading up to the May 6 event.
 
In just one year, Lemonade Day Alaska--which started in Anchorage last year--has grown into a statewide initiative that provides K-12 students the opportunity to learn how to build and operate their own business: the time-honored tradition of running a lemonade stand.
 
Program champion Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell joins several community supporters, including primary sponsors UA College Savings Plan and ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc., to provide youth with the resources they need to make their business venture successful.
 
"Lemonade Day is a great opportunity for our kids for many reasons," says Lt. Gov. Treadwell. "It helps prepare the next generation to participate in free enterprise. It encourages our children to continue America's tradition of supporting charities with profits. And it is a great way to celebrate spring, turning lemons into lemonade."
 
In addition to financial literacy, youth also learn how to set goals, develop a budget, attract investors, choose a business location and put everything together into a business plan.
 
Many community partners are supporting Alaska's budding entrepreneurs by volunteering their time and space to host lemonade stands, and several are offering preparatory workshops on money management, food safety, marketing and stand construction.

"The success of Lemonade Day is dependent upon so many businesses and individuals in our participating communities," says Bear Baker, dean of UAA's College of Business and Public Policy. "We are truly honored and humbled by the support of our local sponsors who are committed corporate citizens and understand the role they play in helping develop the leaders of tomorrow."
 
After kids cover their expenses and pay back their investors, they're encouraged to open a savings account, spend a little and donate a portion of their profits to their favorite local charity.
 
In 2011, Lemonade Day Alaska's inaugural year, 1,100 youth earned more than $94,000--$19,000 of which was donated to various charities--and 250 kids opened savings accounts. Event organizers hope to have 3,500 young entrepreneurs in more than a dozen communities across the state for this year's event.
 
"I am proud to be an integral part of a program in which children learn how to run their own business as well as gain exposure to fiscal and community responsibility," says Lt. Gov. Treadwell. "It was impressive to learn how much children chose to give back to the charity of their choice in 2011. These kinds of lessons are most profound when experienced firsthand. We have an opportunity to form a culture of sound financial planners who feel committed to giving back to their community and local organizations."
 
Lemonade Day Alaska is hosted by the UAA Anchorage College of Business and Public Policy, UA Center for Economic Development and UAF School of Management. For a complete list of sponsors and partners, and for registration and ways to get involved, visit the Lemonade Day Alaska website.