Freshmen Concert FA Booth and Lemonade Stand

July 10, 2009
For the past annual Freshmen Concerts all held at the UP Bahay ng Alumni, the UPRCY had been yearly invited to provide first aid services during the event. Though UPRCYers had come to learn that casualties during these events are low (UP Freshmen are usually behaved and some even remain seated during a rock concert, while the security is tight and entry is limited to UP affiliated individuals), they still accepted these requests and came to the events prepared for the worst. Though the only victim in this year's Freshmen Concert was UPRCYer and First Aider Adrian Ilog (shallow laceration on the left palm), the UPRCYres did not expect what they experienced.

The day before the event, former UPRCY applicant Austin Ong sent a business proposal to Kash Engada, the VP for Finance, to set-up a lemonade stand for the concert since the drinks concessionaire backed-out of the event. There was also a proposal for the UPRCY to sell 100 UP-stamped tumblers along with the lemonade. Since there would be a monopoly of drinks since the only other seller of drinks in the concert would be Rodick's, which bottled drinks are more costly than the lemonade, UPRCY President Steve Santos signed a contract to sell both the drinks and the tumblers.


Because of the short notice by Mr. Ong, preparations were inevitably rushed until the last minute: acquisition of iced tea and lemonade dispensing machines, buying the lemonade powder, plastic cups, and ice, and purchasing almost 50 gallons of purified water. Members also gruelled with the task of preparing the drinks manually and it took time before they came up with a system that simplified their tasks of mixing and selling. Mishaps were numerous: spilling iced tea and lemonade powders and water; needing to fix a leaking lemonade dispensing machine; diluting, concentrating, re-diluting, and re-concentrating drinks to taste; and managing to keep-up with the demands of buyers. The members took shifts in manning the wet and crowded iced tea and lemonade booth, but each felt the heavy demand of the task, especially with their sticky hands and wet pants. The concert ended with 20 or 1/5 of the tumblers sold, and decent income from selling the drinks.


The first aid booth lacked the action the drinks stand had a generous supply of, and members felt exhausted after the event (maybe with the exeption of the FA Booth Team Leader who had to stay at her booth at all times). Nonetheless, the publicity of the org to the Freshmen who were able to see the FA Booth, and the business venture into selling lemonade, iced tea, and tumblers would hopefully bolster the resources of the org, whether thru more applicants and eventual member-volunteers or thru finances that fuel the org's functions and humanitarian activities.

* special thanks to:

• Austin Ong for providing the UPRCY with this business opportunity;
• Lola Lita, a stall owner in the UP Shopping Center for lending one of the two iced tea dispensers free of charge; and to
  
• The University Student Council headed by Titus Tan for their trust in the competence of UPRCY for its First Aid services.