Jana Wiersema | The Republic Kimale Freeman, left-right, Jacob Jones and Junior Jones hold a sign for the lemonade stand they are using to give back to the community.
Amid a blazing hot summer, some local children have started a lemonade stand as a way to earn cash while also helping others.
Junior Jones, Jacob Jones and Kimale Freeman have been running a lemonade stand at 17th and Washington Street for about a week. They recently used funds from the stand to buy food and drinks for the Columbus Fire Department and were treated to a tour of Station 1, which is downtown.
“They did good and got good back returned to them, so they were happy about it,” said father Will Joseph.
“The smiles on their faces were priceless,” said mother Corneshia Freeman. “They were excited about it, it was like they can’t wait to feed the police department next week.”
The kids have also given free lemonade and water to joggers passing through the neighborhood, as well as the occasional free or discounted cup to those who don’t have the funds on hand to pay full price.
Initially, they started the business as a way to earn money for things they wanted to buy, said Kimale. According to Freeman, this was when the family still lived in Georgia.
“They actually enjoyed it,” she said. “It was the whole ideal of becoming entrepreneurs, it was the whole ideal of making their own money. And they enjoyed making their own money. But when we got here, I wanted to switch it up a little bit. … I didn’t want them to think that it was all about just making money and just getting things.”
The kids already enjoyed helping others, which gave her the idea of combining that passion with the lemonade stand.
They had initially hoped to create sack meals for the homeless. However since the family is new to the community and was not sure to start with that endeavor, they decided to go another route.
“And I was like, ‘Huh, well, maybe we can feed the people that give back to us,’” said Freeman. “And we asked the children, ‘Well, who helps us?’”
“Who’s there to support us the most?” asked Joseph.
The first answer? Firefighters. Policemen, doctors and nurses were also on the list. And now that the kids have fed the fire department, they plan to visit the Columbus Police Department next with breakfast in hand.
As far as days and hours of operation, the lemonade stand needs to fit around Joseph’s work schedule, so it tends to be open on Thursdays and Fridays, and sometimes Wednesdays too. It opens around noon and closes down once the kids are ready to stop — which, according to Joseph, often takes some persuading.
“I keep trying to tell them, ‘Let’s go inside,’ but they kept saying, ‘Let’s stay a little longer, let’s stay a little longer,’” he said.
The kids said they enjoy putting on the lemonade stand, and Junior said he likes “helping feed the community.” Freeman believes their drive to keep going comes from the joy they got out of giving to the fire department.
She said that since the stand is only open a couple days a week, about $30-$40 from the first day is set aside for supplies, with the remainder split among the kids. All funds from the second day go to the cause they’ve selected.
Joseph said that he hopes the stand teaches them about entrepreneurship.
“I’ve worked all my life, so I’m trying to give them a different path to success,” he said. “It’s not always about working for somebody. Sometimes it’s best to work for yourself, but in the mix of it, you’re doing good not just for you but for others as well.”
Jana Wiersema | The Republic Columbus firefighters Nathan Barnett and Cody Melton give Junior Jones, Jacob Jones and Kimale Freeman a tour of the Station 1 firehouse.
