With the pandemic and a crumbling economy, it’s safe to say life has given us lemons. But with strict social-distancing rules, kids don’t have the chance to make lemonade.
The beloved lemonade brand Country Time has launched the economic relief program “The Littlest Bailout” to help out the “littlest entrepreneurs” with the “the smallest of small businesses: lemonade stands.”
The program is offering $100 to kids whose lemonade stands have been affected by the coronavirus.
Social distancing guidelines have hindered the typical foot traffic that lemonade stands usually receive, the brand’s parent company, Kraft Heinz, says in a press release.
“The check can offset the loss of revenue from the lemonade stand and can be saved, or better yet, spent to help invest in the local economy.”
Country Time says it hopes “to help kids preserve the values of lemonade stands, honest work, and entrepreneurship, while putting a little juice back into the economy.”
All participants need to submit is an essay answer on how they would use their “stimulus check” and a photo of the lemonade sign the child was “going to use but can’t.”
Kids ages 14 and under can apply with parental permission through August 12. One thousand winners will be chosen.
This is not the first time Country Time has given back to its community. In 2018, the brand launched its “Legal-Ade” initiative that offered to cover up to $300 individual fees for lemonade stands that were fined for not having permits.
As of 2019, only 14 states legally allow unpermitted lemonade stands. The “Legal-Ade” initiative, apart from assisting with fines, encourages its customers to reach out to government representatives and ask them to legalize lemonade stands.
“Whether you live in a red state or blue state, every state can be a yellow state,” says Country Time’s Legal-Ade website.
