Nusenda Credit Union is once again partnering with The Rio Grande Educational Collaborative (RGEC), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing resources and opportunities to support the social and academic dreams of children, their families, and communities, to host Albuquerque’s fourth annual Lemonade Day on Saturday, May 5, 2018.
Started in Houston in 2007, Lemonade Day leads events across the country. Now, it serves more than 1 million youth nationwide. It’s dedicated to teaching kids in grades K-8 how to start, own, and operate their own business through the simple and time-honored act of building and running a lemonade stand.
Between now and May 5, participants will learn a four-part curriculum: setting a goal, making a plan, working the plan, and achieving their dreams. On Lemonade Day, students will set up their stands at various sites in Albuquerque, including Old Town Plaza and Nusenda Credit Union locations, and compete to attract the interest of customers with their unique lemonade recipes and business operation models.
The organization encourages young people to spend some of their profit as a rewards for hard work, but also to put some in savings, and also share some by donating in the community that supported their efforts.
With Albuquerque’s involvement and momentum in becoming a hub for entrepreneurs, the Rio Grande Educational Collaborative brought Lemonade Day to Albuquerque in 2015 to help encourage entrepreneurship among students. That year, the project was implemented in five elementary schools’ before- and after-school programs. In 2017, the program grew exponentially to 20 elementary schools, impacting more than 700 youth.
“The Rio Grande Educational Collaborative is proud to host this phenomenal program in our state and local community,” said Peter Sanchez, CEO of the Atrisco Companies and RGEC. “Lemonade Day helps our youth understand entrepreneurship is not just about ideas but more importantly it’s about making ideas happen.”
“By teaching key analytical skills, financial literacy, and decision making, this event fosters self-esteem and new mindsets that can propel youth to success,”said Shana Runck, Nusenda’s AVP of Community Relations and Financial Capability. “This initiative to help youth become future business leaders and financially-savvy citizens aligns strongly with our mission.”
In addition to participating in the event, registered students also receive a mentor guide and entrepreneurial workbook to assist them in jumpstarting their lemonade business. Created in partnerships with Junior Achievement and Search Institute, the workbooks outline how to set business goals, create a budget, find an investor, choose a site location, create an advertising plan, build a lemonade stand, learn banking skills, and analyze the business results.
While Lemonade Day curriculum is taught within RGEC’s afterschool programs, parents or guardians who want to learn more can also obtain workbooks from RGEC to do the program independently with their child. RGEC also incorporates Lemonade Day into its afterschool program at select Albuquerque and Belen schools.
This year’s registration is open – those wanting more information or to sign up can visit the Lemonade Day in Albuquerque page for details.
Albuquerque’s Lemonade Day is sponsored by a variety of local businesses, including Nusenda Credit Union, New Mexico Mutual, Dion’s, Wells Fargo, The Loan Fund, the City of Albuquerque, and First Convenience Bank.
Nusenda Credit Union locations that will host lemonade stands on May 5 are: Cottonwood, Ladera, Montgomery, North Valley, Paseo del Norte, South Valley, and Uptown. For addresses and maps, please visit Branch Locations page.
For more information about the Rio Grande Educational Collaborative, please visit www.rgec.org.
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