Be careful if Cash Ashkinos ever offers you a cup of his fresh-squeezed lemonade.
He likes it sour.
Very sour.
"I would prefer to put no water in, but I know I have to," the Pacifica 12-year-old says as he completes a batch with his mother, Tanya Shevitz. It was his mom who made sure enough water and sugar went into the drink to make it palatable to the average person.
Still, as sour as his taste buds are, Cash's intentions with that lemonade are entirely sweet.
Cash is selling the lemonade, as well as raising money through an Indegogo campaign, to create $1,000 scholarships for ten other children to attend Camp Inc., an entrepreneurial summer camp in Boulder, Colorado.
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Cash first heard about Camp Inc. a few months ago when camp's director, Josh Pierce, visited Cash's synagogue. Cash instantly fell in love with the idea of a camp where young people develop, then pitch, a business plan. "It's just like the TV show, 'Shark Tank,'" Cash says.
"I just love everything about it," Cash says. His parents, however, were not in love with the price tag of the camp: more than $3,000.
"My heart just sank," Tanya says, "because I just knew there was no way we could afford it."
Cash didn't want to give up just yet, though.
He had had success in the past raising small amounts of money through a lemonade stand. At Josh's suggestion, he also started a crowd-funding campaign to raise enough money so he could go to Camp Inc..
In just a few weeks, Cash had the $2,500 he was looking for. He was going to camp. But that's when it dawned on him that others might also have trouble paying for camp. So Cash decided to keep selling lemonade and raising money and make it available as scholarships through Camp Inc.
"I just feel lucky," Cash says when asked why he decided to keep fundraising.
Tanya is thrilled with Cash's effort. "I think it's so great to see him care about other people and not just be self-centered."
Tanya says she is even more excited about the camp because of the opportunities it will provide Cash, a boy with some learning difficulties and social challenges, to learn to work with new kids and learn how to present with adults.
To contribute to Cash's campaign and send other kids to camp, click here.
