Prepared 4 Life co-founder Michael Holthouse, rap star J. Xavier, and event mascot Lemonhead (L–R) joined former Houston Astro Jeff Bagwell (second from R) to congratulate Washington High School students Jazzlyn Brown, T. J. Sumber, Simone Washington, and helper Kennedy Adams on their best-tasting lemonade recipe. HOUSTON- The winning recipe at Prepared 4 Life’s 2009 Best-Tasting Lemonade contest isn’t just made up of fruit juice, sugar, and water—it also includes large portions of peer mentoring and teamwork!
Students from two HISD campuses—John G. Osborne Elementary School and Booker T. Washington High School—joined forces through the latter’s Youth Teaching Assets (YTA) program to produce the best-tasting lemonade out of all the entries in the city on Saturday, April 25, 2009, at the Children’s Museum.
As soon as the Washington students registered to participate in this year’s  Lemonade Day, YTA members began teaching Obsorne students financial literacy skills. The student mentors used the entrepreneur workbook provided as a guide to stress best business practices, so that the young participants would be able to make wise decisions when purchasing ingredients. Other topics addressed included planning, setting goals, and accounting, among others.  Once supplies were purchased, 15 of the Osborne students teamed up with their YTA mentors to produce three types of lemonade: tropical lemonade, lemonade with grapes, and homestyle lemonade.The campuswide winner—tropical lemonade—was produced by Jazzlyn Brown, T. J. Sumbler, and Simone Washington, and it advanced to the April 25 Best Tasting Lemonade Day contest at the Children’s Museum, where it also won the top prize at the citywide competition.             (Photo credits: HISD Web site)