Country Time is giving kids $100 'bailout' checks to support shuttered lemonade stands during the coronavirus outbreak

• Country Time, the lemonade and soft-drink company owned by Kraft Heinz, is issuing $100 "bailout" checks to children around the country who have been forced to close lemonade stands due to the coronavirus.
• "We want to help kids foster their entrepreneurial spirit by offering a small relief to those who can't operate their lemonade stands this summer," Andrew Deckert, a brand manager at Country Time, said in a press statement.
• The effort comes after Country Time's 2018 "Legal-Ade" campaign, which paid fees for lemonade stands in select regions with outdated permit policies, prompting states like Colorado and Texas to update legislation.

The coronavirus outbreak may have placed a damper on the lemonade stand, a timeless summer tradition, but Country Time is reimbursing the young entrepreneurs that run them.

Country Time, the lemonade and soft-drink company owned by Kraft Heinz, announced it would issue $100 "bailout" checks to kids around the country whose lemonade stands have been shuttered due to the virus. The campaign serves as a nod to the Payment Protection Plan, a federal program that administers loans to small businesses struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic.

The effort also comes on the heels of Country Time's 2018 "Legal-Ade" campaign that covered permit fees for lemonade stands in states that require them. As a result, state legislatures in Colorado and Texas both legalized stands and exempted them from the payments.

Children under the age of 14 are eligible to apply to the "Littlest Bailout Relief Fund" with the help of a parent or guardian and selected will receive "stimulus checks to help kids preserve the values of lemonade stands, honest work and entrepreneurship," according to the company.

"Due to social distancing guidelines, lemonade stands aren't what they used to be, and we want to help kids foster their entrepreneurial spirit by offering a small relief to those who can't operate their lemonade stands this summer," Andrew Deckert, a brand manager at Country Time, said in a press statement.

Winners will be randomly selected and will receive an honorary check in the mail, as well as an email with a pre-paid gift card.

"The check can offset the loss of revenue from the lemonade stand and can be saved, or better yet, spent to help invest in the local economy," Country Time said in a press release.