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Entrepreneurship Events for Youth at Denver Startup Week

Janet Redwine Events, YouthBiz Leave a Comment

Youth Pass returns to Denver Startup Week for a third straight year!  A collaboration among Young Americans Center for Financial Education, Junior Achievement Rocky Mountain, and Denver Startup Week, YouthBiz allows youth as young as six and as old as twenty to network side-by-side with local entrepreneurs and business leaders.  Students will participate in event workshops, lead panel discussions, compete …

In Young AmeriTowne, students discover philanthropy by thinking about how they can share their time, talent and treasure. Today, we’re highlighting a proud partner of Young Americans Center for Financial Education that has shared time, talent and treasure with young learners for nearly three decades: Empower . Empower Retirement first became involved with Young Americans Center near the very start of the Young AmeriTowne program in 1991. Over the next 28 years, Empower sent thousands of low-income students to Young AmeriTowne or International Towne and taught thousands more the basics of financial education through Money Matters classes. This year, Young Americans Center is thrilled to have Empower as a supporter at the 2019 Spotlight on YouthBiz Stars business competition and gala fundraiser. The driving force behind Empower’s community impact is a focus on ACT: associates, community, together. According to the Empower website , “Our ACT Program is designed to amplify the commitment of each associate through matching their donations, funding volunteer time and supporting collaborative philanthropy.” EMPOWER VOLUNTEER “SUPER HEROES” HELPED PREPARE YOUNG AMERITOWNE FOR A NEW SCHOOL YEAR, INCLUDING YOUNG AMERICANS CENTER BOARD MEMBER STEPHANIE BENDRICK. This focus has enabled Empower to have a direct impact on youth through volunteer time in programs. In 2018 alone, 24 Empower volunteers donated 127 hours by serving as business consultants in Young AmeriTowne or International Towne, preparing the physical Towne spaces for the start of a new school year, and providing feedback as part of a YouthBiz StartUp pitch competition judging panel. Leading this volunteer effort is Stephanie Bendrick, Vice President, Transformation and Innovation at Empower and Member of the Young Americans Center Board of Directors. In particular, Ms. Bendrick’s leadership on the Board has helped guide technology upgrades throughout the organization and has helped determine the strategic direction of Young Americans Center as a whole. For Ms. Bendrick, “Serving on the Board is a way to provide the next generation with knowledge to budget, save and obtain a secure financial future.” The impact of Empower is extraordinary. Since 1991, 471,318 youth have participated in Young AmeriTowne where they gained a hands-on lesson in free enterprise that prepared them for life-long financial success. Thank you Empower for your continued commitment to today’s young learners!

Sponsor Spotlight: Empower shares time, talent, and treasure with young learners

Janet Redwine Get Involved, International Towne, Young AmeriTowne Leave a Comment

In Young AmeriTowne, students discover philanthropy by thinking about how they can share their time, talent and treasure. Today, we’re highlighting a proud partner of Young Americans Center for Financial Education that has shared time, talent and treasure with young learners for nearly three decades: Empower. Empower Retirement first became involved with Young Americans Center near the very start of the …

Market students at work in Young AmeriTowne

Sponsor Spotlight: Lifelong lessons delivered by CliftonLarsonAllen Foundation

Janet Redwine Get Involved, International Towne, Young AmeriTowne Leave a Comment

Each year, the Send-a-School Project affords low-income schools an opportunity to participate in the Young AmeriTowne and International Towne educational programs.  A valuable partner in this work is CliftonLarsonAllen Foundation, which provided scholarship funds for 504 deserving students last year. Why is this learning so valuable?  Researchers are able to demonstrate that financial literacy “reduces the likelihood of being financially fragile …

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Meet a Mentor: Ryan Beiser, Regional President and Head of Corporate Banking, PNC Bank

Janet Redwine Events, Get Involved, YouthBiz 1 Comment

Every year, the Spotlight on YouthBiz Stars business competition pairs three Denver-area business leaders with three up-and-coming youth entrepreneurs.  The first mentor we are highlighting for this year’s 18th annual competition is Ryan Beiser, PNC regional president and head of Corporate Banking for Colorado. Beiser’s extensive background in business and finance and most importantly, his personal commitment to community engagement and …

YouthBiz products on shelves e

Sponsor Spotlight: Kids gain real sales experience at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children

Janet Redwine Events, Get Involved, YouthBiz Leave a Comment

Walk into Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center, and you’ll immediately see a kid-friendly gift shop filled with toys, games, stuffed animals, candy, and even products made by young entrepreneurs.  This unique space is the result of a special partnership between Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children and a YouthBiz Star entrepreneur. In 2015, Rocky Mountain Hospital …

Young AmeriTowne Bank customers write checks at the bank

Sponsor Spotlight: Financially fit future thanks to IMA Foundation

Janet Redwine Get Involved, Young AmeriTowne Leave a Comment

Young AmeriTowne and International Towne help prepare young people for the real world.  And thanks to the IMA Foundation, students from all different backgrounds can gain this hands-on experience in financial education. Proud partner IMA supports the Send-a-School initiative of Young Americans Center for Financial Education which provides scholarships to Young AmeriTowne and International Towne.  This education is particularly important …

Students Shake Hands in the AmeriTowne College with graduation cap and outfit. Two other students handshake and praise the graduate.

Sponsor Spotlight: Colorado Community Colleges provide a free education in Young AmeriTowne

Janet Redwine Young AmeriTowne Leave a Comment

Nestled right between the Bank and the Medical Center is a valuable institution: the Young AmeriTowne College. Here, five Colorado Community Colleges ensure that students receive a free education every day! Five educational institutions came together in 2013 to promote hands-on, real world learning: Arapahoe Community College, Community College of Aurora, Community College of Denver, Front Range Community College, and Red …

Finance Minister Paperwork in International Towne Photo

Sponsor Spotlight: Eide Bailly helps students stay on track at Young Americans Center

Janet Redwine International Towne, Programs, Young AmeriTowne Leave a Comment

Every good business person knows that keeping track of money is important.  Thanks to Eide Bailly, students learn this lesson at an early age in Young AmeriTowne and International Towne, and they do it in a hands-on way! In Young AmeriTowne, Accountants manage the money in each shop.  In addition to ensuring each of their citizens receives a physical paycheck, …

YouthBiz Workshops focus on the skills young entrepreneurs need to develop their businesses. We offer classes throughout the school year, September through April, on topics such as drafting a business plan, advertising your business, and creating market-ready products to inspire your next business idea. Plus, many workshops are free!

Sponsor Spotlight: Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation empowers youth

Janet Redwine Get Involved, YouthBiz Leave a Comment

YouthBiz is expanding, bringing hands-on entrepreneurial programs to youth throughout the Denver metro area. Fueling this expansion is support from the Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation, which focuses on transforming lives in profoundly positive ways through grants focused on health, youth and family, and animal welfare. Before 2015, YouthBiz’s powerful, hands-on entrepreneurial education was available only to students in Denver’s …

Campers in Running Your Own Business camp enjoyed an extra treat on their final day of camp last Friday: a visit from 106.7 The Bull’s Chelsea Thomas! Running Your Own Business summer camp teaches the basics of business to third and fourth grade students. Campers learn about marketing and pricing, they learn how to create a business budget, they manufacture products, and they develop a business name and slogan. At the end of the week, campers sell their products in a Mini-Marketplace that’s open to family, friends, and special guests like DJ Chelsea. Owning your own business, even if it’s just for a week, teaches a lot. Cadence, Grace, and Zoe teamed up for “Me, Myself, and I Designs”, and because they didn’t know each other before camp began, they had to learn to work as a team. “That was one of the hardest parts,” said Grace. Cadence chimed in, “But when we finally learned how to work together, it worked really well!” Across the room at a business called “MIP,” co-owner Carson attributed their business success to using product labels. Each product had a description and price, which Carson thought helped customers know what they could buy. “I think it was a really good idea,” he said. CHELSEA PURCHASED PRODUCTS FROM SUMMER CAMP BUSINESSES. DJ Chelsea stopped by the Mini-Marketplace to shop and to see the campers in action. She was impressed with their business savvy, particularly their marketing skills which definitely have a real-world application. “You can tell these kids have learned a lot,” said Chelsea. “I ended up buying two friendship bracelets instead of one because they convinced me that it was such a good deal!” iHeart Media is the parent company behind 106.7 The Bull, which joined Young Americans Center for Financial Education as a proud partner in 2018. This partnership aligns with iHeart’s broader goal to “inform, inspire and support neighborhoods across the U.S.” By supporting hands-on financial education programs like Running Your Own Business summer camp and Young AmeriTowne, where students can have a career for a day in the iHeart Media Radio Station, iHeart Media is helping to educate a generation of young people about how to successfully navigate their finances. And in the words of camper Claire, “You can learn about finance in a really fun way!”

Sponsor Spotlight: iHeart Media provides hands-on, real world experiences

Janet Redwine Classes + Camps, Get Involved Leave a Comment

Campers in Running Your Own Business camp enjoyed an extra treat on their final day of camp last Friday: a visit from 106.7 The Bull’s Chelsea Thomas! Running Your Own Business summer camp teaches the basics of business to third and fourth grade students. Campers learn about marketing and pricing, they learn how to create a business budget, they manufacture products, …