By Ashley Beard-Fosnow

My kids have been begging all summer to have a Lemonade Stand. (I have been putting it off because I hate obligating our neighbors to humor our kids. Furthermore, my husband and I give our children opportunities to earn pocket money by doing extra chores around the house.) I finally relented and we have been making plans to set up a Lemonade Stand around Labor Day. We compromised by agreeing to make it a charity event and donate all the proceeds to the AFL-CIO United Way. I was inspired by the IAFF and their Labor Day campaign to “Fill The Boot” for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Firefighters are amazing. I find their work and charity efforts so admirable.

Rather than make lemonade from scratch, we are selling cans of Minute Maid Lemonade made by the UFCW. My local grocery store had 12 packs on sale earlier in the summer for 4 for $10. I had 4 $1 off coupons, which I printed for free from www.coupons.com, so my total cost was $6. We will sell each can for $1 and hope to raise at least $48 for the United Way. We will fill our big Igloo Cooler made by the UAW with the cans of Lemonade. Additionally, I will fill my ice bucket with ice from the fridge and serve it in Solo Cups made by the IBT. Like everything else in my life, our Lemonade Stand will be easy, cheap, and as Union made as possible.

Stay tuned for more posts about Ashley’s ideas for teaching Union values to children and running a labor friendly household on Labor 411 Blog. Ashley Beard-Fosnow is a Missouri housewife and mother of three who also writes a Union-themed family blog at www.myunionfamily.com.