By Steven Gordon, Lemonade Day National President

Where did 2018 go? Last year flew by! This new year, 2019, is off to a strong, positive start for Lemonade Day and those of us involved in this amazing youth entrepreneurship program.  We are celebrating the successes of 2018 while also pursuing new projects and goals for 2019.

Here is some great news that I am honored to share with Lemonade Day fans and followers:

• A total of 58,770 kids in North America registered to participate in Lemonade Day in 2018.  Kids who hosted lemonade stands and reported their business results last year grossed sales averaging $267 per stand.  A reported 75% of the participants contributed an average of $110 per stand to a cause that matters to them. This means that every if child who registered in Lemonade Day were to have hosted a lemonade stand, Lemonade Day participants would have had the collective potential of grossing more than $15 million in sales and contributing over $4.8 million to charities and other causes.

• As of today, 75 markets are licensed to host Lemonade Day programs and events. This is especially exciting, given that Lemonade Day launched in Houston in 2007 with 2,700 registered participants. Our goal for 2019 is to increase the number of Lemonade Day licensed markets to 82, with 70,000 plus kids registered by year end.

• Our Lemonade Day national team, board of directors, city champions, sponsors and supporters are gearing up for our second annual Gallup/Lemonade Day summit on Business Startup Challenges and Youth Entrepreneurship Opportunities on Thursday, Jan. 17, at Gallup World Headquarters in Washington, DC. The event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and there is no cost to attend. This summit appeals to entrepreneurs, educators, kids, parents, mentors, youth development leaders and media.  Please follow this link for the full agenda and registration information. Please also share with others.  https://lemonadeday.org/nationalevents

• In 2018, Raising Cane’s hosted a national fundraiser and contributed more than $75,000 to Lemonade Day. Raising Cane’s has returned as a major corporate sponsor for 2019 and will be launching a promotional campaign for Lemonade Day in the very near future.

• Domino Sugar and C&H Sugar, leading sugar brands in American, are among other corporate sponsors that are new to Lemonade Day in 2019. We look forward to partnering with these great brands and their team members.

• Puerto Rico is a new licensee that will be hosting Lemonade Day for the first time this year.  Look for more news about Lemonade Day Puerto Rico in the next few weeks!

• Latrice Tubbs, senior vice president of Healthcare Banking at Commerce Bank in Houston, is our newest member of the Lemonade Day National Board of Directors. We will provide more information about Latrice via a news release this month.

• Our Lemonade Day mobile mentor app will be available to download in selected markets and will be instrumental in delivering the lessons and tools that support our young lemonade business owners in acquiring skills that will equip them for life.

These are just a few announcements for now. As 2019 moves forward, I will have much more to report. Lemonade Day is continuing to grow throughout North America. Our national board is encouraging every city and town in the United States and Canada to consider becoming a license holder.  Furthermore, we have an ambitious goal for the next five years of engaging 250,000 adult mentors and millions of young kids in the business startup process that delivers powerful lessons in business planning, product development, financial management, sales and marketing, customer service and charitable giving.

Lemonade Day is much more than a day, a month, or a year. Lemonade Day is a progressive movement and a catalyst for positive social, emotional, personal and professional change in young boys and girls that can have a major impact for decades.

I wish a happy and healthy 2019 to you and yours. Thank you for your ongoing support. As always, I welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions. Please email me anytime at Steven@lemonadeday.org.

To learn more about Lemonade Day, please visit lemonadeday.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.