Sylvan Lake youth may soon be embracing the storied phrase, “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade”.
Earlier this month, the town of Sylvan Lake FCSS and economic development department held a launch event for Lemonade Day which was also attended by members of the Sylvan Lake Chamber of Commerce.
Town economic development officer Amanda Mercer said the chamber was integral in getting the event off the ground.
“Youth had an opportunity to select their sweet spots from a list of participating business locations and apply for a small business loan from Community Futures if they felt the need,” she said.
Each youth during the event was also provided with a complementary membership and was provided with information to help start their business plans.
“Each youth was given a workbook to start to work through with the help of their parents. One of their first tasks will be to reach out to their chosen business and have them sign their “Sweet Spot” agreement. From there, they will start to develop their business plan,” FCSS youth services supervisor Krista Carlson said.
For Lemonade Day, 33 youth have registered and 18 have confirmed that they will definitely participate on Lemonade Day.
Being able to participate in this event will help give youth real-life experience in planning, building and running their own businesses, Carlson added.
“Entrepreneurship drives our local economy and sparking a passion for entrepreneurship in our kids will set them, and our community, up for future success. Participants will learn how to create a budget, set profit-making goals, serve customers, repay investors and give back to the community.”
After the event is over and the kids cover their expenses by paying back their investors they also get to keep what they earn.
“We encourage them to spend some of their profit as a reward for their hard work, save some of their profit for a rainy day or to re-invest in their business, and share some of their profit with the community that supported them,” Carlson said.
There will also be two more events called ‘Sweet Mixers’ where information will be given to help the young entrepreneurs during the process, Carlson said.
“During the ‘Sweet Mixers’ the participants can come together to get help on any parts of the business plan they may be stuck on, learn from other participants, and get excited about Lemonade Day.”
With the launch done community members can look forward to expecting many Lemonade stands peppered throughout the community on Aug. 12.
@sarahbaker
sarah.baker@blackpress.ca
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