Making Lemonade Out of Lemons: Lemonade Stand Mama Jennifer Knowles Advocates Changes in City and County of Denver Laws Related to Permitting for Kids Hosting Lemonade Stands

By Steven Gordon, Lemonade Day National President

“Over Memorial Day weekend, my three little boys’ first ever charitable lemonade stand near our home (in Denver) was shut down by police due to lack of permits and a complaint. They were raising money to sponsor a five-year old boy from Indonesia living in poverty. But people are kind and the boys ended up raising thousands of dollars for Compassion, helping many kids in poverty! Turns out lemonade stands are illegal in my town and in many cities and states across the country! Join us and support childhood lemonade stands and all the valuable lessons they teach. Let’s create positive change together.”

Appeal by Jennifer Knowles on her “Lemonade Stand Mama” website, www.lemonadestandmama.com

Jennifer Knowles

          Photo Source: www.lemonadestandmama.com

 

“Lemonade Stand Mama” Jennifer Knowles is doing an amazing job of making lemonade out of lemons, turning an unpleasant and disappointing experience into an opportunity for powerful, widespread change.  Since Memorial Day weekend, Jennifer and her family have been interviewed by numerous media outlets. She is an activist who has launched her “Lemonade Stand Mama” website. She has appealed to elected officials in the City of Denver and the State of Denver, as well as in other cities and states, to address regulations for lemonade stands hosted by kids seeking to gain entrepreneurial experiences and raise funds for themselves and charitable causes.

This week, I am saluting Jennifer for the remarkable progress she has made in just a few short months by enlisting the support of Council of the City and County of Denver member Paul Kashmann, who was instrumental in moving forward the proposed bill related to exempting kids’ lemonade stands from permitting requirements for voting on Monday, September 10 and Monday, September 17 at the Council meetings at 5:30 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time.  Jennifer explained that the official date when kids’ lemonade stands in Denver will be legal without a permit will be Monday, September 17 between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time, after the Council registers the final vote (Jennifer and Paul Kashmann anticipate that the bill will pass unanimously on September 17, given that council members voted unanimously on September 10 to move the bill forward for the final vote.)

The Council demonstrated its support of the bill via this Tweet on September 10: https://twitter.com/dencitycouncil?lang=en&lang=en

Check out some of the recent news coverage on the upcoming vote by Denver City Council members:

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/front-range/denver/denver-moves-forward-to-allow-lemonade-stands-without-a-license-following-police-shutdown

https://www.denverpost.com/2018/08/29/denver-lemonade-stand-law/

http://www.cpr.org/news/story/denver-city-council-moves-forward-on-legalizing-childrens-lemonade-stands

https://aplus.com/a/denver-works-legalize-lemonade-stands?no_monetization=true

These are just a few of the articles on this topic. Many more can be found via Internet search.

I am especially thankful to Jennifer for all she is doing to support youth entrepreneurship. Not only is Jennifer an outspoken advocate for youth empowerment, she is also an excellent role model for inspiring an entire city to take a close look at how laws need to be adopted or changed with the involvement of concerned citizens and media. I am planning to attend the Council meeting in Denver on Monday, September 17 and be part of this strategic and positive change for the better.

 

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.

 

back to blog
@LemonadeDayNational