Students conduct market research for Lemonade Day

Strawberry lemonade, mango-pineapple lemonade or raspberry lemonade?

Dressed in a bright yellow sweatshirt, Crossler Middle School student Seth Henry held a clipboard as customers sauntered into the IKE Box in Salem Thursday night.

“Too sweet, too tart or just perfect?” he asked.

“Tart,” the customer replied, pausing before she took another sip.

Henry was gathering market research as part of a launch event for Lemonade Day, a national program through which kids learn about entrepreneurship by running a lemonade stand. The program includes 14 steps to success, incorporating lessons such as budgeting, advertising and saving money.

On May 4, students participating in the program will officially open their lemonade stand for business.

Chatter and pop-rock music filled the coffee shop, so crowded that there was a person at every turn. Students from Crossler, Stephens, Straub, Waldo and Walker middle schools along with Grant Community School gave out lemonade samples during the event.

Marco Antonio, a seventh-grader from Straub Middle School, called the strawberry lemonade at his booth “Love Potion.”

Antonio learned about Lemonade Day from his brother and he’s already thinking about how to make a profit.

“If it’s going to cost me this amount of money to make the lemonade, then I’m going to sell it at this amount,” he said.

With the help of the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation, there are now 14 schools with after-school clubs for Lemonade Day.

At Grant Community School, there are about 20 students involved in Lemonade Day.

Raul Canchola, who has been mentoring the students as part of the program, was giving them pointers throughout the night about how to interact with customers.

“We’re trying to teach them how to market their product more,” he said.

In a few months, as one mayor once remarked, these students will be painting the town yellow.

qwong@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6694

How to get involved

To learn more about Lemonade Day, which is on May 4, or to register online, go to http://salemkeizer.lemonadeday.org/