Lemonade stand serves hope, life lessons

WILMINGTON – When Nasai Oliver wanted a pair of Nike Air Jordans his mother handed him lemons.

The 12-year-old boy took the citrus fruit, an old family recipe and opened a lemonade stand in one of the city's toughest neighborhoods. The stand, at the corner of Jessup Street and Vandever Avenue, has become a bright spot in a part of town that over the last three years has seen dozens of shootings, some ending in death.

The Cab Calloway School student opened his stand in July and could have closed it in three weeks after earning the $175 he needed for the sneakers. But he continued selling on the corner, earning enough money to buy his back-to-school wardrobe, more sneakers and this month Oliver plans to give a portion of his proceeds to raise awareness for breast cancer.

Area residents not only appreciate Oliver's lemonade, but the energy and good vibes he brings to the corner.

"It's great to see positivity like this," said area resident Camille M. Burton. "I think what he's doing is just a great thing."

The positive energy that Oliver brings to that corner and to other city youths has been noted by several youth organizations that have asked him to tell others his story. On Oct. 25, Oliver will be featured at the Small Business Pop-Up Shop – a bimonthly gathering of small businesses at the Boys & Girls Club of Delaware, Clarence Fraim Club where small entrepreneurs get a space to sell, promote and network their brands.

"I picked Nasai because he's standing on that corner doing something positive," said Tina Cropper, Pop-Up Shop founder. "He can be on that corner doing a lot of other things, but he chose to take the positive route and do something positive by standing on that corner and sell his lemonade."

"It's just awesome at the age that he's at and where he's going," Cropper said.

Oliver's stand is in a neighborhood that is part of a renovation plan that began in 2000, when Greater Brandywine Village Revitalization Inc. members started working on a master plan for the area. City Council approved the plan three years later and the city acquired, mostly at sheriff sales, properties for Greater Brandywine and Habitat for Humanity.

And while there are bright spots, such as new and refurbished homes, open drug sales still exist. So does gun violence.

In a four block radius from where Oliver sells his lemonade, there have been about 30 shootings since 2011, according to The News Journal's shooting database. Three of those shootings resulted in homicides.

Things weren't simple when Oliver started selling lemonade from a 2-gallon container this summer.

"It was rough learning how to get into the groove of really selling," he said. "That was the tough part."

To sell his product, Oliver said he had to learn how to better communicate and get people's attention.

Oliver was able to sell $3 lemonades during the work week – once he got into his groove. He now has three containers he uses to sell his lemonade. But as classes started and Oliver began running track at the West End Neighborhood House, he was able to sell his drink only on the weekends, when his schedule and the weather permit.

Yet, Oliver said he sees potential in his stand becoming an ongoing business.

With the help of his mother, Nataki Oliver, the two are hoping to find an indoor spot where he can continue his business during the colder months. He also plans on taking online orders so he can deliver the drinks.

"I don't think I'm going to stop," he said. "It's become my job and also my business."

But it's not all about money for Oliver. During October, Oliver is donating a portion of the proceeds to help fight breast cancer, a disease that took the life of his great grandmother.

"My great-grandmother died of breast cancer so ... we will be making pink lemonade and finding a person or organization to donate 25 cents from each of the pink lemonade [cups] sold," he said.

People can nominate a person or organization for Oliver to pick from on either of his social media accounts: facebook.com/mysterlemonade or instagram.com/mysterlemonade. "When you think about it, you're really helping somebody out," Oliver said. "That's really special."

Nataki Oliver, who is usually nearby when her son sells lemonade, said her son's business is not only helping out the family of two, but it's teaching her son the value of earning his own money, as well as the value of giving to charity.

It's also providing a bright spot to an area that can use it.

"Everybody was pretty happy to see a child out there not selling drugs, not cussing or doing things that generally the kids in the city are being labeled as [doing]," she said.

"I'm really proud of him," she said. "And I'm really proud of the city of Wilmington because he couldn't have done it without them.

"Big ups to Wilmington for that."

Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.