Honorable Mention: Austin City Council Woman Ellen Troxclair Has Taken Many Stands for Lemonade Stands

By Steven Gordon, Lemonade Day National President

Ellen Troxclair

 

Please join me in giving a well-deserved “shout out” to the Honorable Ellen Troxclair for being an enthusiastic and effective champion for Lemonade Day and everything for which our program stands.  Ellen is the Austin City Council’s District 8 representative.

The issue of permits and other regulations related to kids’ lemonade stands has absorbed an extensive amount of time and energy for Lemonade Day National and local leaders for years, and I am thankful that this issue has captured the attention of media representatives, parents, mentors, and elected officials in all levels of government and across all party lines—especially since Memorial Day weekend of this year, when a charitable lemonade stand hosted by Jennifer Knowles and her family in Denver was shut down by police after they received complaints from nearby festival vendors.  Jennifer was not aware that a permit was required to operate a lemonade stand in Denver. She has since become a major crusader to raise awareness among elected officials, community leaders, and media representatives that the topic of permitting and associated fees needs to be addressed in a reasonable and “kid-friendly way,” that the process of obtaining a permit for a lemonade stand needs to simplified for kids and their family members, and that fees should be waived or discounted.

Ellen Troxclair has been an ardent supporter of Lemonade Day in Austin for several years.  She spearheaded the passage of a resolution in July 2017 to remove fees and simplify or eliminate the application process for kids wanting to host lemonade stands in Austin. Ellen advocated for the waiver of permitting fees for kids’ lemonade stands year-round, not only on Lemonade Day. Prior to the passage of this resolution in Austin, kids were required to secure a one-day permit with a fee of $35 and a fee of $98 for a two-day permit. If a child wanted to set up his or her stand on a city sidewalk, the permit fee was $460.

At your convenience, please follow these links to several news and feature stories related to Ellen Troxclair’s support of youth entrepreneurship and lemonade stands:

http://www.fox7austin.com/news/local-news/permits-no-longer-needed-for-lemonade-stands

https://www.kxan.com/news/business/austin-council-member-wants-to-squeeze-the-red-tape-out-of-lemonade-stands/

Follow this link to photos from past Lemonade Day Austin events:

https://lemonadeday.org/austin/media

Lemonade Day appreciates the support of Ellen Troxclair, her fellow Austin City Council members, and all elected officials and regulatory agencies that pave the way for young kids to learn business and character-building lessons that will serve them for life through the power and simplicity of hosting a lemonade stand.

Lemonade Day is more than a day. Lemonade Day programs run from April through late summer in cities, towns and military installations all over North America. We have an important goal of registering 250,000 kids for Lemonade Day events by 2023. We welcome all fans and followers of youth empowerment by teaching kids to become financially literate and socially responsible.

Thank you for your standing up for the values and virtues that align with our Lemonade Day mission and vision. 

 

About Lemonade Day

Founded in Houston in 2007 by Michael and Lisa Holthouse, Lemonade Day is a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching every child across North America the business and financial skills that are the key ingredients of entrepreneurship.  By learning these skills early in life, children will be better prepared to be successful, financially healthy adults.  Through our fun, hands-on program, kids K-5 are empowered to start their very own business—a lemonade stand—and experience the feeling of earning real money, using 100% of their profit to spend, save and share based on their own goals.

Lemonade Day is hosted in 72 territories in North America and is growing. Over the past 11 years, we have served more than 1 million kids in our youth entrepreneur programs. Within the next five years, Lemonade Day leaders estimate that 250,000 mentors and millions more kids will be hosting lemonade stands in North America and on other continents throughout the world.  Please visit www.lemonadeday.org to learn more.

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