A Nonprofit Venture

A Nonprofit Venture

Sunny day. Light breeze. Afternoon walk. Residential neighborhood. A card table ahead, at the edge of a lawn. Two girls on alert, tending to business. Asian. Straight black hair. Both wearing glasses. The posterboard sign, taped to the table’s front, printed by felt-tip pen: ICECOLD LEMONAID 50 Cents 25 Cents COOKIES 25 Cents & 50 Cents

I’m considering the two types of cookies. The older girl points them out in turn: “Ginger snaps. From a box. Twenty five cents. They’re small. Two would be fifty cents. The big ones are oatmeal raisin. We made them. They’re just fifty cents.” She entices me: “Those are my favorite.” I follow her recommendation, and find among my pocket change two quarters. She drops them in her open cash box. I may be the only patron at the moment, but a few dollar bills show that I haven’t been the only customer all day. The younger partner takes a small paper cup off of a stack and hands it to the co-owner, who raises a porcelain pitcher with both hands. “The lemons are organic. We grow them.” I nod, and she fills the cup. I sip with one hand, and search my change pocket again. “This isn’t ice cold lemonade,” I report. “This is warm lemonade.”

“Yes,” says the older girl. “Technical difficulties.”

“Actually,” adds the younger, as if taking responsibility, “poor planning.” “So,” says the older, with resignation, “we lowered the price.” I hand over my quarter. I ask, “What are you going to do with your profits?” “It goes to our piano teacher,” says the older. “Piano lessons?”

The younger explains, “He has cancer.” I locate a dollar and place it in the paper cup labeled TIPS. “I suppose I can take a tax write-off,” I muse aloud. The two girls look at each other, quizzically.

“Dad will know,” the younger says to the other assuringly.