Campbellton Elementary’s “The Lemonade Stand - Team Kaden” program has been selected by Character.org as a 2025 Promising Practice, demonstrating a significant impact and aligns with one or more of the organization’s 11 Principles Framework for Schools.

Character.org, a leading advocate for cultivating the importance of character throughout American society and worldwide, certified 230 character-centered Promising Practices that have been implemented in schools and organizations.

“We are extremely proud to recognize the schools and organizations that have developed and implemented a Promising Practice,” said Dr. Arthur Schwartz,” President of Character.org. “Each of these programs and practices have demonstrated significant impact and strongly align with the principles that help schools and organizations cultivate a culture character.”

Applications focused on a wide range of practices which, included peer mentoring, providing service-learning opportunities for students that connect to what they are learning in the classroom, empowering student voice and leadership, encouraging students to do the right thing for intrinsic rather than extrinsic reasons, and programs that create a caring school community where everyone feels they belong.

“Keith Thacker puts on the Lemonade Stand with his first graders each year and did a majority of the work with the application,” said Campbellton Elementary Principal Keshan Vogt. “As he transitions to fifth grade next year, he plans to keep this alive with them.” 

Thacker’s application included the overview of the project, part of which is as follows:

“Our service-learning opportunity focuses on raising awareness and funds for childhood cancer. In Childhood Cancer Month, we wanted to give back to help those who need it, so we found the Team Kaden Foundation in our local Franklin County area. We brainstormed and developed The Lemonade Stand - Team Kaden. This is a great way to provide opportunities to practice our ROCK Essential skills and shape/form their moral compass, principle 5. First, our students learn about Kaden Keller and his childhood cancer by watching a video on the Team Kaden Foundation website. Then our students start researching key facts and creating informative writing about childhood cancer, a first-grade standard, on Google Slides presentations to share with others. Next, the students design advertisement fliers to attract customers and practice respect, including greeting customers, making the sale, and encouraging return visits. The fliers and sales all link to our speaking and listening standards. On the days of the lemonade stand, our students demonstrated our value of ownership by running their own business and handling money during exchanges. Every student at Campbellton has a set time to purchase lemonade. Our first-grade students set up the lemonade stand by getting the lemonades out of the cooler, practicing opening cartons of lemonades, stocking the cart, and ensuring they are ready to go. Other grade level teachers send their students down, and the first-grade students take turns demonstrating ownership by running the stand. Finally, our students wrote a friendly letter inviting Team Kaden to come to our school to give them our donation. Once the event concludes, Team Kaden visits our school, where we present them with the final donation and share more about Kaden and the foundation.”

Thacker’s application also included the impact that the project had, part of which is as follows:

“The Team Kaden Lemonade Stand has a profound impact on our school, district, community and organization. What started as a simple project four years ago has grown into a beacon of collective support, resilience, and community spirit. Over the past four years, we have collectively raised $1,965.22 for the Team Kaden Foundation. Students from the past come by to ask when first grade is doing the Lemonade Stand. They comment on how they liked raising money for Team Kaden and helping others who are in need. Older siblings tell their little sibling(s) about this project and how they have a core memory from this service learning project. This total is not just a reflection of the money raised, but a representation of the spirit of giving that permeates through our small school community. This project has ownership from not only the students but also from our parents in our community. It’s the excitement from the students, the parents, and staff that make this project so successful in our school.”

Campbellton Elementary teacher Keith Thacker with the Promising Practice Award.