Patriotic lemonade draws customers to youngster’s stand
Special to Leader-Press
Little Mister Five Hills Jordan Hendrix, Jr. filled each cup with ice and then slowly poured the white lemonade into the bottom of the cup, followed by the blue lemonade and then the red raspberry lemonade. Hendrix sold the patriotic lemonade to raise money to make cards for deployed troops for his community service project, Cards Across the Ocean, during his yearlong reign.
“We tried several different recipes until we finally figured it out,” said Hana Hendrix, Jordan’s mother. “The ice and sugar content was the trick in keeping the colors from mixing. The lemonade with the highest sugar content was placed in the cup first. Its sugar content would allow it to stay at the bottom. The next layer had a smaller amount of sugar, allowing it to stay in the middle. The raspberry lemonade is sugar-free. This allowed it to float at the top.”
The Lemonade Day program encourages young entrepreneurs to save some of their profits to operate their business the following year, spend some on themselves as a reward for a job well done and donate some to a charitable cause. Jordan will save 10 percent, share 80 percent, and spend 10 percent. The money shared will purchase supplies including paper, stickers, candy, glue, tape and to help pay the postage to send cards to troops deployed to combat. Hendrix, Jr. is excited to get started on his next project that is Halloween cards.
“We spend lots of time making each card as we want the troops to know that each card was made with love,” Hana Hendrix said. “We also believe that the cards are a way to help with Jordan’s literacy skills and are also a way for him to be creative. This project is one that he can actively participate in as he can help make the cards. This charity is also important to us because we know that being away, especially during the holidays, can be hard. Though the cards may only be a small gesture, we still hope that it brings a smile during those times.”
The Hendrix family estimates they will make over 2,000 cards during Hendrix, Jr.’s yearlong reign. Estimated total expense of the project is $300-$500. Hendrix, Jr. earned $350 at this year’s lemonade stand.
The young entrepreneur’s business was also a welcome escape from COVID-19 although face coverings were worn and no contact payments were received.
“We posted on the neighborhood Facebook page that our son was having a lemonade stand and people started showing up. We even had members of our church family stop by,” Hana Hendrix said. “It was great seeing familiar faces since we haven’t seen many of them since the pandemic started. We also had family members from our hometown show support by sending in donations since they weren’t able to be here in person.”
In addition to his popular patriotic lemonade, Jordan also sold Bomb Pops that are red, white, and blue popsicles, red, white, and blue cookies, and cupcakes.
“Jordan learned about customer service, responsibility, the importance of cleanliness in the food industry, and teamwork,” Hana Hendrix said. “Jordan even learned how to make the layered drink by the end of the first day of business. It was so rewarding to see the smiles of everyone’s faces. One mom even told us that her kids thought that it was the coolest thing ever.”