Vivienne Harr

(https://twitter.com/vivienneharr ())

"Gandhi was one person. Martin Luther King was one person. Mother Teresa was one person. Why can't you be someone who helps?"(Harr). Vivienne Harr is a 10-year-old girl who has dedicated her life to ending slavery. In 2012, she started a lemonade stand, and all of the money earned goes to freeing child slaves. This idea started when her parents brought home a picture of two boys in Nepal, carrying rocks up a mountain. Vivienne's parents told her that these boys were slaves, and she felt like she needed to help them. A hero needs to have a goal and be able to fight for it. They also need to be brave and work hard to reach their goal. Vivienne Harr is a hero because she possesses bravery, she is hardworking, and she fights for what she believes in.

The logo for Make a Stand (http://makeastand.com/ ())

Vivienne Harr is a girl who dared to do something no one would ever think of doing. She started lemonade stand to end child slavery: "Vivienne set up a lemonade stand to raise money to end slavery on June 25, 2012. With her parents' help they went to Doc Edgar Park and set up the stand"(Thorpe). Most people would have started a charity event or fundraiser to collect money, but how is a 10-year-old supposed to do that? So, she did the only thing she knew how, and she started a lemonade stand. The amazing part about Vivienne is how much money she actually raised: "Most people would have stopped at raising a few hundred dollars for child slavery"(Solomon). Vivienne raised over $100,000 just in the first 170 days, which was what she hoped to get in a year. But what shows her bravery is that each cup had no set price. Customers were told to "pay what's in their hearts" to show how much they cared for the cause. Vivienne soon partnered up with Twitter and turn her simple lemonade stand into a new company, Make a Stand.  

(http://www.businessinsider.com/make-a-stand-founde ())

Vivienne Harr is hardworking because she never wanted to give up on her dream. Even with no business experience, she wanted to help: "When I started I didn't have any idea. I didn't have any business experience, except for a lemonade stand. I didn't know what social media was. I didn't know what Twitter was. It was kind of like not knowing what something is except for, like, a lemonade stand. And then I did it and it turned out to be a major success"(Harr). Even without the experience needed to do this project, Vivienne still wanted to help. So, she did the only thing she knew how, a lemonade stand. Who would have guessed how much hard work she put into this to raise the amount of money she did. After earning $100,000, there were some changes to the company: "A year later, everything has changed. A children's book was introduced, as well as a variety of new lemonade flavors. Vivienne spoke at LinkedIn and at Twitter and is speaking later this fall with the Dalai Lama"(Solomon). Vivienne still wanted to work towards making the world a better place. By creating more products, that leads to creating more money for the company. The more money that goes to Make a Stand, the more they can help the kids in slavery. This proves that Vivienne is hardworking because she has done everything in her power to help these kids.

The picture of the two boys in Nepal (http://www.askthejudge.info/8-year-old-takes-stand ())

When Vivienne learns about a problem, she wants to fix it. Vivienne knew that something was wrong the first time she saw the picture:"Well, when my parents told me about it, it just seemed hard for me to understand and once I finally understood, I felt like, 'Oh my goodness, this is really bad,' and I just wanted to make a difference" (Harr). She knew that what was happening to these children was wrong, so she wanted to do something about it. By starting her lemonade stand, Vivienne was fighting for the right thing.Vivienne soon reached her goal, but she wasn't close to ending her campaign: "She told her parents that she wasn't going to stop until child slavery no longer existed, and they decided to help her turn her cause into a real company called Make A Stand"(Feloni). Even after reaching her profit goal, Vivienne still wanted to fight for the end of child slavery. Vivienne knew that $100,000 wasn't going to free every slave in the world, so she wanting to keep fighting. Vivienne shows this quality because even after reaching her goal, she still wanted to do more.

I think that Vivienne Harr is a hero because she is brave, hardworking, and she fights for what she believes in. She is so young, but she still wants the world to be a better place and Vivienne is one of few people who does something about it. I believe that Vivienne is a hero because she is a fighter and I want to be able to do something like what she did someday. Vivienne Harr inspires others because she teaches us how to dream for a better world and that we can reach our goals. She shows us all how to make a stand.

Works Consulted

Feloni, Richard. "5 'Lemonade Lessons' From 10-Year-Old Entrepreneur Vivienne Harr."                          

Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 19 May 2014. Web. 05 Feb. 2015.

"FRIDAY 5: VIVIENNE HARR." States News Service 9 Nov. 2012. Biography in Context.

Web. 28 Jan. 2015.

Judge Tom. "Lemonade Stand for Child Slavery." Askthejudge. N.p., 23 Aug. 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.

Solomon, Steven Davidoff. "10-year-old's journey from lemonade stand to Silicon Valley." 

New York Times7 Oct. 2014: B5(L). Biography in Context. Web. 28 Jan. 2015.

Thorpe, Devin. "The 9-Year-Old Who Vows To End Child Slavery." Forbes. Forbes

Magazine,    19 July 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.  

"When You Buy a Bottle, We Help a Child." Make a Stand. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.