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Joshua West, owner of the One Man Lemonade Stand, made his tasty lemonade with love (and a little help from mentor Valerie West). Joshua, a runner-up for the People’s Choice Best Tasting contest, donated his proceeds to Orphan Outreach and the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home.

The former foster child said his favorite part of Lemonade Day was knowing he was helping foster and adoption kids, and he plans to participate next year to raise even more money for the cause.

“I was a foster kid from Louisiana and was adopted, and I want other foster kids and orphans to get adopted,” he says.

Steps to Success

The main tasks for setting up a lemonade stand are assembling the stand and making the lemonade, he says. Joshua enjoyed gathering the supplies and putting the stand together.

“Coming up with the best lemonade recipe is also very important,” he says, noting that he was inspired by a Paula Deen recipe. His favorite thing to do was make the lemonade though he says the lemons were quite expensive.

About the Stand

Joshua sanded and painted his booth using duct tape to stripe the booth red. His business sponsor, Nicole Smith from Sotheby’s Realty, helped him with the marketing by making a sign and funding some “cool color-changing cups” that turn blue when cold liquid is poured into them.

Learnings From This Year

As with any experience, Joshua learned a few valuable lessons. Among them:

• How to talk to different types of people

• Not to be shy, but to speak up when new people come to the booth

• The importance of location: “We had more people come this year because we were at Kroger.”

Tips for Next Year

Joshua’s experience has taught him a few things that could benefit future participants:

• Bring a stool to sit on to keep your feet from getting sore.

• Make your stand unique from other lemonade stands.

• Put effort into advertising.

• Use cool cups.

Visit Joshua’s Facebook page to learn more about his story and watch his video. His fundraising efforts for orphans, foster kids and adoption charities are truly inspiring.

And if you participated in Lemonade Day, please share your experience with us. Fill out our online form here.