CHENNAI: Lemonade made by six-year-olds. Sweet or sour, who can say no to that?
Better yet, all it costs is `10. If you’re passing by Arunachalam Road in Kotturpuram, this is where the first and second graders of Kids Central (helped by their mommies) pour out their refreshments for sale every Friday afternoon. While it isn’t open to the general public, given that it’s a school activity, perhaps you should befriend one of the parents or staff like we did.
“The idea actually came from a class three student,” says Sindhu Suneel, who handles student affairs and events on campus. While most schools opt for a few hours of community service a year this one it turns out has an exclusive ‘Community Service period’ on the timetable. The proceeds of the lemonade stand go toward goodwill. “All the money we raise goes toward the Teach for India Wish list,” parent Priya Gopalen says. “This could be anything from books to computers, whatever Teach for India requires at the time,” elaborates Priya, who is also a member of the school’s Social Responsibility Committee.
And the kids seem to be enjoying every minute of their hands-on juice making-cum-marketing experience. “I love selling,” says first grader, Eshaan Kanna. He adds with a naughty smile, “Look at all this money!” Apparently, counting the notes has also improved his mathematics.
Apart from the pretty pitchers of lemonade spaced across the tables, there are also posters (made by the little ones) with recipe instructions following them with their squeezing and mixing adventures behind-the-scenes.
Kid Central’s kiddie lemonade stand has raised `25,000 for their cause since July. The refreshments are sold every Friday between 2 and 4 pm to students, staff and parents on campus.