St. Catharines university teaching Grade 4 students how to turn lemons into lemonade into money

Talk about getting shaping young entrepreneurs into future business leaders by teaching them that sometimes life hands you lemons.

However, Brock University is teaching Grade 4 students in Niagara that even lemons can be turned into cash.

Grade 4 students from James Morden Public School in Niagara Falls and St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School in Port Colborne are being taught how to sell their refreshing drinks to the school campus and wider Niagara community.

Sponsored by FirstOntario Credit Union, the event will see Brock’s Goodman Group teach the nine-year-olds how to have their lemonade stands set up and their sales pitches ready when the “Goodman Lemonade” program returns to Brock University’s main campus on June 8.

The students have designed and built their lemonade stands and will go head-to-head in Brock’s Jubilee Court from 11 am to 1 pm, trying to entice university students and the public to try their product.

“We knew our partnership with Brock would give us a great opportunity to connect with students to help build their financial literacy skills,” said FirstOntario’s Joanne Battaglia, Vice President, Marketing, Communications and Community Partnerships.

“Supporting the Goodman Lemonade program is one of the ways we can share what we do best to benefit our communities.”

Following a presentation from the Goodman Group and FirstOntario in April, the two participating Grade 4 classes were divided into 12 teams. The groups will compete this week to see who can make the most profit from $50 in seed money, provided by the Goodman School of Business.