Baldwin Second Graders Raise Over $1,200 for Charity with 'Lemon-Aide' Stand

The student-run lemonade stand taught economics lessons while supporting a local nonprofit for children with special needs.

Published on Mar. 2, 2026

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Second grade students at Brookside Elementary School in Baldwin, New York organized a 'lemon-aide' stand to raise money for Camp Anchor, a nonprofit that provides programming for children and adults with special needs. The students learned about business concepts like profits, supply and demand, and budgeting as they worked to set up and run the lemonade stand, which generated over $1,200 in just one hour.

Why it matters

The lemonade stand project allowed the second graders to apply their economics lessons in a hands-on, real-world setting while also engaging in civic-minded work to support a local charity. It demonstrates how schools can creatively integrate academic concepts with community service to provide meaningful learning experiences for students.

The details

The lemonade stand was the product of second grade classes taught by Lauren Maywald and Kristin Maldonado. After learning about business concepts like profits, supply and demand, and budgeting, the students set up the stand in the main hallway at Brookside Elementary, selling lemonade during three different lunch periods. Despite the short one-hour timeframe, the stand had already generated over $1,200 by 11:20 a.m. The students were able to put their economics knowledge into practice, handling tasks like advertising, budgeting, and making deals with customers.

  • The lemonade stand operated from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Friday, March 2, 2026.
  • The stand had already generated over $1,200 by 11:20 a.m. that day.

The players

Lauren Maywald

A second grade teacher at Brookside Elementary School who co-organized the lemonade stand project with her colleague Kristin Maldonado.

Kristin Maldonado

A second grade teacher at Brookside Elementary School who co-organized the lemonade stand project with her colleague Lauren Maywald.

Nova

A second grade student at Brookside Elementary who helped run the lemonade stand.

Anthony Mignella

The superintendent of the Baldwin school district, who praised the lemonade stand project for teaching students economics and financial literacy skills as well as fostering civic engagement.

Camp Anchor

A nonprofit organization in the Town of Hempstead that provides programming for children and adults with special needs, which was the beneficiary of the lemonade stand fundraiser.

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What they’re saying

“We're selling lemonade for a camp for kids with special needs.”

— Nova, Second grade student (Patch)

“We had kindergartners come in this morning and draw pictures of lemons and lemonade stands. They remember it, from year to year, too. We started it two years ago, when the fourth graders now were second graders, and they came in today and said, 'I remember when we did a lemonade stand.'”

— Kristin Maldonado, Second grade teacher (Patch)

“This takes the economics lesson that's in second grade and we added a lot of financial literacy to it. We also believe in soft skills, like critical thinking, collaboration, communication. So when we design these units of study, we want to make sure those are embedded in them. And another piece is civic engagement.”

— Anthony Mignella, Superintendent (Patch)

“The kids were inspired that materials would be purchased for the camp, the kids would be able to go on field trips, different activities and people that could come in to see them.”

— Lauren Maywald, Second grade teacher (Patch)

“It's just meaningful.”

— Kristin Maldonado, Second grade teacher (Patch)

What’s next

The teachers said they had already made as much money this year as they had in the two previous years of selling lemonade, indicating the lemon-aide stand will likely continue as an annual fundraiser for Camp Anchor.

The takeaway

The lemonade stand project demonstrates how schools can creatively integrate academic concepts like economics and financial literacy with hands-on, community-oriented learning experiences. By allowing students to apply their lessons in a real-world setting while also supporting a local nonprofit, the lemon-aide stand provided a meaningful way for the second graders to develop both academic and civic skills.