This 6-year-old girl in East St. Louis helps the community and has fun along the way
On a humid Sunday afternoon at the intersection of 9th Street and St. Clair Avenue in East St. Louis, 6-year-old Zoe Howlett is setting up a table for her lemonade stand.
It is eventually stacked with pouches containing pink and original lemonade flavors labeled “Zoe’s Lemonade,” one of the businesses represented at Vendors in the Park, an event that highlights local products in East St. Louis.
With the help of her mom, who takes turns with Zoe carrying her 9-month-old sister, Zoe greets customers with a shy smile as she tells them that both flavors are her favorite. She also tells them about another event she has on the weekends: a movie night for kids.
“I started this because I just wanted to have fun at home,” said Zoe, a rising first-grader.
Zoe sets her lemonade stand in front of her home on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. And, every Saturday at 6:30 p.m., she hosts a community movie night in her backyard.
Zoe said having those events in her community is a great way to fill her time because she often gets bored since her school switched to digital learning due to COVID-19.
“Because of corona, we couldn’t go anywhere,” said Zoe, who attended Unity Lutheran Christian Elementary School. “I just wanted to have fun with my friends.”
“Zoe’s 6 Feet in the Street Community Movie Night,” which started on June 13, invites children and parents in the East St. Louis area for a night filled with fun, food and entertainment.
“I was going to have it until school starts,” Tiara Moore, Zoe’s mom, said. “A lot of movie theaters aren’t open for kids to go to right now to be able to gather, so she just decided to create something at home in the backyard.”
“The movie plays on a projector, and the chairs are placed six feet apart, so we still follow social distancing guidelines.”
Moore, 36, said she was initially reluctant to have the event when her daughter came to her about the idea in June.
“At first, I was like, ‘It’s not going to be in the house is it?’,” the single mom of six said. “Then I thought about it, and I looked at the driveway and thought it’d be cool to have it there. I just didn’t know how much work was going to be entailed in terms of setting up. It’s a lot of manpower that goes with it.”
Zoe’s older sisters, who proudly claim the title of being her manager, also help set up the events. A’Miyah Howlett, Zoe’s 14-year-old sister, said she likes helping with the events because she gets to spend more time with her sister.
Zoe said she gets tired because it’s a lot of work having the events. “But I feel happy about it too,” she said.
“Zoe’s 6 Feet in the Street Community Movie Night” caters to kids ages 2-10, and parents are encouraged to stay with them during the shows. Zoe said about 30 people attended her first movie night.
Her lemonade stand is held every Saturday and Sunday at noon. Inspiring other kids to be entrepreneurs is Zoe’s favorite part about hosting events in her community.
Moore hopes that her daughter’s events will encourage other parents in the community to assist with their children’s creative needs.
“I think during this time, kids are cooped up in the house,” said Moore, who recently worked with United Congregations of Metro East. “They haven’t had much entertainment.
“Schools doing e-learning was a bit stressful and strange because they’re used to being in the classroom with their friends, so we just had a conversation about doing more things at home because even though things are starting to re-open, Zoe’s still not going to things because of safety,” Moore said. “I’m just hoping that these events will help inspire parents to get a little bit more creative so kids can become young entrepreneurs.”
“ I feel safe taking my kids there”
Terri Wade, a Belleville resident, has brought her 5-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son to Zoe’s lemonade stand and community movie night. She said that although she doesn’t feel comfortable with taking her kids outside her home, the events are a safe and fun environment to bring her kids to.
“The kids enjoyed themselves,” Wade said. “They had popcorn and food. Everything that a movie theater would have, she had it.
“It makes me feel great because I don’t have to take them out. I’m not huge on going to different places because it’s so crazy out here, and you just never know what may happen, so I am a homebody, but having someone in the community who’s involved with events like those, is good because I feel safe taking my kids there.”
Wade has her own cake business, Terri’s Sweet Cakes, which she operates from home. Wade said seeing Zoe succeed as a young business owner motivates her in her own work.
“I think it’s huge,” Wade, 34, said about Zoe’s events in the community. “It allows other kids and other parents to know that small kids can do things. They can make their own money. They can save up and be taught to be entrepreneurs, so I think it’s a great idea, so as long as the community is supporting it, I think it’s awesome.”
Moore, who’s engaged in criminal justice work in the community, said the events are also a positive outlet for her daughter and other children, considering the current political climate with COVID-19 and police brutality. Although Moore is adamant about not exposing her daughter to news related to protests and police brutality, she’s happy that her daughter’s events can offer something positive for kids.
She said she plans to use the money Zoe has earned from the lemonade stand to start her daughter’s business account and to buy books for Zoe’s library in her home classroom. Moore plans to home school Zoe in the fall.
“One thing I’ve noticed is that there’s a lot of protests and negativity going on, and no one’s really factoring in these kids in all of this,” Moore said. “And everything that’s happened is just geared toward protest and police accountability and brutality, but no one is addressing how this is impacting children.
“They don’t have any outlet or anything to do and no one’s really giving them anything to get involved in that they can be happy about, so having something for kids in the community to enjoy is great because there’s a lot going on.”
Back at the lemonade stand, Zoe plays with her new doll when she’s not taking orders for customers. She even plays with her new lip gloss kit that she recently purchased from the store. But she makes sure to hide them as soon as she sees a customer approaching her table. She’s a focused business owner. She also looks forward to relishing in the fruits of her labor.
“I can buy my own toys now because I have my own money,” Zoe said.
Admission for Zoe’s movie night is $2, and her lemonade cost no more than $3. More details about her events can be found here.
This story was originally published July 2, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
