Editor’s note: The location of this event has been moved to the Goodman Atrium. 

Niagara’s newest entrepreneurs will be ready with refreshments to satisfy the thirst of customers at Brock University’s main campus this week.

On Thursday, June 8, Grade 4 students from Glynn A. Green and Stevensville Public Schools will bring their lemonade stands to Brock’s Goodman Atrium from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The students have spent the spring receiving an introduction to entrepreneurship, planning the basics of their businesses with the help of Brock’s Goodman School of Business and Goodman Group, its community programming unit.

Since 2017, the Goodman Lemonade program has been teaching local elementary students the process of building a for-profit business, which culminates with the lemonade sale.

“This program helps us introduce the concept of entrepreneurship as a career option early in a student’s educational journey,” said Lauren Smith, Goodman’s Student Leadership Co-ordinator.

“Through the in-class visits and the sale experience, we also get our enthusiastic Goodman student leaders engaging with and supporting the elementary students to help make their first business venture a positive experience.”

Divided into 12 teams, 60 students will compete to see which group can make the most profit with the seed money they were given. They will use market research they conducted to customize their products and stands in hopes of maximizing their returns.

FirstOntario Credit Union has partnered with Brock to help students of all ages build financial literacy skills through the development of innovative, student-centred programming. In addition to its support of other Brock financial literacy programming, FirstOntario’s support has helped further develop the Goodman Lemonade program.

“Our unique partnership supports our focus on connecting with students and helping to build important financial literacy skills in a fun, practical way,” said Joanne Battaglia, Senior Vice-President, Marketing, Communications and Community Partnerships.

“We are pleased to continue to connect with youth and community leaders such as Brock and the Goodman Lemonade program and to see students get excited about entrepreneurship.”

Goodman Lemonade is designed to tie into the Grade 4 curriculum, reinforcing concepts students have learned in class this year, including measuring volume, using decimal points, plotting data and making graphs.

Attendees are asked to bring their change and small bills for their lemonade purchases.

Goodman Lemonade details:

• Who: Sixty Grade 4 students from Glynn A. Green and Stevensville Public Schools
• What: Twelve teams of students competing for top lemonade sales
• When: Thursday, June 8 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Where: The Goodman Atrium at Brock University (Free parking available in Zone 1, 2 or 3)