Babson's Lemonade Day Boston Wins Ad Club's Prestigious Rosoff Award in the "External Diversity & Inclusion Initiative" Category

WELLESLEY, Mass., May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Babson College has received the Ad Club's prestigious Rosoff Award for the community driven initiative, Lemonade Day Boston, which equips children from disenfranchised communities with the basics of running a business through operating a lemonade stand.

The Rosoff Awards were created to honor corporations in the Boston business community that are devoted to building an inclusive workplace environment, or are committed to supporting diversity, mentoring and inclusion programs in Greater Boston.

Winning in the "External Diversity & Inclusion Initiative" category, Lemonade Day Boston is now in its third year and consists of nearly 2,000 elementary and middle schools students from the Boston area, including Hyde Park, Dorchester, Mattapan, Roxbury, and Allston.  Started in conjunction with Mayor Thomas Menno and the City of Boston, Lemonade Day Boston compliments Babson's mission to educate leaders who can create great economic and social value everywhere.

At this year's ceremony on May 14th, Babson's Sadie Burton-Goss (Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer), Suzanne Picher (City Director, Lemonade Day Boston), Donna Bonaparte (VP HR), Kelly Lynch (Sr. Director, Institutional Communications), and Sarah Sykora (Chief Marketing Officer) were honored to accept the award on behalf of the college. Babson was one of three finalists along with Google and MassHousing.

Lemonade Day lessons reinforce and promote financial literacy, creativity, goal-setting, entrepreneurial thinking, leadership and collaboration skills -- all while having kids experience pride and accomplishment as they launch a real-life business venture. One of the most exciting pieces is that kids gain hands-on understanding around earning money, paying back loans, managing savings and sharing profits. They also learn the value of giving back by sharing a portion of their earnings with local charities. Visit http://boston.lemonadeday.org/

"At the heart of Lemonade Day is the most important lesson we can ever teach our children - to take charge of their own lives, to realize their unique potential, and to become the leaders of their own future," said Babson President Len Schlesinger.

Babson Alumni, friends, family, and children of all ages are celebrating Lemonade Day Boston's stars and their successes at the Boston Children's Museum open house Friday May 17^th.

The Lemonade Day Young Entrepreneur Achievement Fair, sponsored by BNY Mellon and supported by Boloco, will feature, Ty Allan Jackson, founder of Big Head Books and author of the highly acclaimed children's book, Danny Dollar Millionaire Extraordinaire - The Lemonade Escapade, who will talk in a fun way about the power of reading and the importance of building confidence and self-esteem. Register here:  http://bit.ly/14seppw 

About Babson College
Babson College is the educator, convener, and thought leader for Entrepreneurship of All Kinds™. The College is a dynamic living and learning laboratory, where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society -- while at the same time evolving our methods and advancing our programs. We shape the leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge and the skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to create economic and social value. As we have for nearly a half-century, Babson continues to advance Entrepreneurial Thought and Action® as the most positive force on the planet for generating sustainable economic and social value. For information, visit www.babson.edu.

About Lemonade Day
Lemonade Day is a part of Prepared 4 Life, a nonprofit that provides fun, proactive and experiential programs infused with life skills, character education and entrepreneurship. Lemonade Day was born in Houston in 2007, and was inspired by the lessons local entrepreneur and philanthropist Michael Holthouse taught his young daughter and her friend when they set up a lemonade stand. Since then it has grown to a nationwide program, operating in over 30 cities and engaging more than 150,000 youth.

Michael Chmura
Director of Public Relations
Babson College
Babson Park, MA 02457
781-239-4549

SOURCE Babson College