Nine-year-old Ethan Schnall is already an entrepreneur who wants to put his profits towards a good cause. The Potomac Elementary fourth grader launched his first lemonade stand business on Sunday, Sept. 24 at the Heritage Farms Park in Potomac. After weeks of watching news reports of Hurricanes Harvey, Jose and Maria and talking with his parents and brother Noah about the devastating effects of losing one’s home and everything they had, he decided he would donate the profits of his first business venture to the Hurricane Victims’ Fund at his synagogue, Har Shalom.

He and his mom Barrie had created their own lemonade recipe a long time ago – squeezing fresh lemons and adding sugar water. Ethan had come up with the idea for the secret ingredient that makes it so tasty — “freeze the lemonade into ice cubes and then add water to prevent the usual melt-down of the beverage into a diluted, terrible-tasting drink,” he said. They made the lemonade the night before, squeezing the lemons and creating the thirst-quenching beverage. On Saturday morning, Ethan set up shop and began selling at the park right across the street from their Potomac home. Many teams play lacrosse there on the weekends.

Ethan is the son of Barrie and Michael Schnall. The family was shocked that he sold out of lemonade and he had to return home to get more. But Ethan was more than surprised — and elated when he collected $50 within two hours. “One man even gave me $10 for two 50-cent glasses of lemonade,” he said.

He wanted to thank everyone who purchased lemonade from him; thus his mom contacted the Almanac to publish his letter. After his lemonade sale, he wrote the following letter:

“To the people that donated money to support my lemonade stand to give money to the victims of the hurricanes. I am sure they will really appreciate that you cared to help and I do too. Even though I am only 9, I’m trying to make a difference in the world and you are helping me do it. Thank you very much! From: Ethan Schnall”

This past weekend, Ethan once again set up his lemonade stand in the park and collected $60 in two hours. Weather permitting, he will again set up his stand next weekend.

Ethan has constructed his business plan for his future enterprise. He will put one-third of his profits back into his business, keep one-third for himself and donate one-third. His message to other youths is: “Be generous. Think what it would be like to lose everything you have — and try to help the world.”