Born in 2004
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African-American
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Solution created 2008
Mikaila Ulmer
Problem Background
When Mikaila was four she got stung by a bee, of course she didn't like being stung by a bee so she became scared of them. Eventually, she did some research about them and became interested in them. She realized how much bees do for our ecosystem and how their numbers have been decreasing over the recent years. Her grandma had a lemonade recipe that she thought she could use for her project. She had an idea, what if she creates something using her grandma's lemonade recipe and that helps the bees?
Solution Background
Mikaila then created her business, "Be Sweet Lemonade", unfortunately, they had to change the name do to legality issues. They in turn, renamed it to the title we all know and love today "Me & The Bee's Lemonade". Instead of using regular sugar for the lemonade Mikaila switched with honey from the bees. Mikaila started her business by starting a lemonade stand and donating a certain amount of her income to the local and international organizations with foundations to save the honeybees.
Connections
Mikaila's story exemplifies how we can use our minds to engineer new possible ways to assist problem around the world. Ideas come from every mind.
Citations
"Me & The Bee's Lemonade" official website - https://www.meandthebees.com/pages/about-us
"An 11-year-old Girl Got a Whole Foods Contract for Her Lemonade Business" Time.com - https://time.com/4277590/whole-foods-bees-lemonade/
"Catching the Buzz: A Young C.E.O. on Her Lemonade Business, Which Was Inspired by Bees" New York Times - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/29/books/review/mikaila-ulmer-bee-fearless.html