You Can Help 50,000 Houston Youth in One Day. Here’s How.

On Sunday, May 2nd, 50,000 youth will hit the streets of Houston. And they'll be asking for your money. But, they don't expect you to just give it to them. They plan to earn it. In fact, they've put together business plans, found investors and built their own places of business. It's all part of a great entrepreneur youth program called Lemonade Day. It's a free, community-wide event dedicated to teaching children how to start, own and operate their own business through the simple act of building and running a lemonade stand. And for it to work, we need to come together as a community and support it.

There's a lot of talk these days about "community" – especially as it pertains to brands and the online environment. But, the true meaning of community is a group of people who come together for a common purpose. Communities are built on passion and motivation. Lemonade Day is the perfect conduit to create passion and motivate people to get involved because it's centered around making sure the next generation learns the entrepreneurial skills necessary to be successful in the future and become contributing members of our community. They are encouraged to give back to the community, too.

The beauty of Lemonade Day is that, in true entrepreneurial spirit, the kids keep and manage their own money. After covering their expenses and paying back their investors, the children are encouraged to open a youth savings account so they may "save a little, spend a little and give a little," donating a portion of their profits to a local charity. The community helps by purchasing the lemonade, but the community benefits, too. Last year, nearly $500,000 of the proceeds from Lemonade Day were donated to local charities across Texas.

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Michael Holdhouse, co-founder of Prepared 4 Life, started Lemonade Day in Houston in 2007. Now, it's grown into nationwide project that has expanded into 13 cities. It's a great idea and like all great ideas, it's a simple one. The yearly momentum for Lemonade Day continues to grow and the goal is, that by 2013, the program will be in 100 cities with over a million youth participating on one single day. We think they'll get there. In fact, at Yaffe/Deutser we like the idea so much, we're working with Lemonade Day Houston to help keep the momentum going.

If you'd like to learn more, go to LemonadeDay.org, join them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter. The site has some great videos and all the information you need to be a part of this youth entrepreneur movement.

So, come May 2nd, make sure you do your part. If you're in Houston or one of the other 12 cities, buy some lemonade. Heck, buy a lot of lemonade. Buy some for your friends, your workmates, strangers… it's all for the good of our community and our future generations.

Mike McClure, hankering for some lemonade right now.