From lemons to lemonade and more than a $500 charitable donation, the BrickStreet Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Club and the Entrepreneurship Club at West Virginia University taught local elementary school students in the Morgantown area about entrepreneurship through Lemonade Day.

The center and the club hosted the third annual Lemonade Day on Wednesday, April 27, on WVU’s downtown campus. Children of some of B&E’s faculty and staff from age four through sixth grade set up a lemonade stand across from the Mountainlair to sell lemonade, with proceeds to be donated to a local charitable organization of the children’s choice.

The children made a profit of approximately $501 and decided to donate the money to Pet Helpers, Inc., in Fairmont, West Virginia. Lucy Boyd, a second grader at Cheat Lake Elementary School, said she loved learning entrepreneurial skills and was excited to help an animal shelter in the area. 

“We learned how to make money for charity, how much money we have to save and how we can save money,” she said. “The best part is that we get to raise money for charity.” 

Representatives of the BrickStreet Center, housed within the College of Business and Economic, and the B&E Entrepreneurship Club also spent time with the young students to teach them about entrepreneurship during a morning educational session. They spent the remainder of the day outside with the children encouraging them to implement these concepts. 

“I have been the coordinator for Lemonade Day on the WVU campus for the past three years, and this is by far our most successful year,” said Brandon Cook, WVU senior finance major and club president. “I am working hard and earning an education with hopes of being an entrepreneur one day, so it is really awesome to work with these young kids to hopefully help them realize a similar dream. We reached our goal of more than $500, and the kids picked a great local charity to receive the money. I hope the kids enjoyed the day as much as I did and took away some valuable lessons in business and entrepreneurship.”

Lemonade Day is a national organization that empowers children to become entrepreneurs. The organization believes that by running their own lemonade stands, kids learn the business and life skills needed to set a goal, make a plan and work the plan to achieve their dreams.