Brett's Vision

This project is very near and dear to my heart as it was for Brett and our family. It was his last great idea and he was so pumped about the possibilities!

We'd like to share a little more with you about Brett's vision as he shared with us shortly before he passed. His imagination truly caught fire with the possibilities of this program!

First and foremost, he wanted it to be kid-driven/kid-centered. His idea was that the kids decide what their goal for raising funds would be (donation to PAWS, Hospice, helping a relative, to get a PlayStation for themselves, get a new bike, etc.), what their product is (lemonade stand, selling dog biscuits, whatever). They write up a basic business plan themselves and perhaps present their idea to a peer-to-peer panel to approve and get input.

The business plan could be as simple as identifying overhead costs, doing calculations on how to determine your costs associated with your product to better define what you need to charge for that product so that you can make a profit towards your goal; and how long it should take you to reach your goal. They would undoubtedly need some tutoring with this and his hope was that there could be some high school, college, and even junior high school students that could help tutor, under the oversight of adults/teachers. The tutors could also help the kids with designing their “‘marketing” signage, etc. He wanted the adult involvement kept to a minimum, as resources only and to "help" direct the kids in finding answers for themselves.

In order to allow all kids of any economic status to participate, he envisioned “Seed” Money being available in a small set amount per project so that all kids had the opportunity to meet their goals. This would help them purchase their materials, etc. The plan would be that they set a budget and keep records of their expenditures and revenues to learn basic bookkeeping.

It would be best if there was an agreement that no additional funds are donated by anyone to the kids' projects outside of the initial seed money and their profits. He stressed that it should not be a competition between the kids.

He envisioned this growing over the years to where kids could set up not only on the corners of blocks throughout the town, but at events like the Farmers Markets, Happy Days, etc.

The parent's responsibilities would mostly entail supervision, getting kids to and from where they need to be, helping with setup, etc.

We just wanted to get you a little more history on his vision and we are so appreciative of you all taking this on in his memory, and for this awesome community!

Thank you from the Watsons!

Kay Watson

#WatsonStrong #NoBadDays #LiveLikeBrett