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

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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, …

Students and bus at Young Americans Center

Sponsor Spotlight: Hands-on learning in the heart of Cherry Creek, thanks to Cherry Creek Shopping Center

Janet Redwine Get Involved, Young AmeriTowne Leave a Comment

Hundreds of students gain a hands-on lesson in financial education at Young Americans Center for Financial Education every year.  With its headquarters in Cherry Creek, we shine a spotlight on long-time supporter Cherry Creek Shopping Center which has made this learning possible for the last decade. Students, teachers, and parents appreciate the value of the educational programs at Young Americans …

University of Denver College Hat on Stand in front of Young AmeriTowne College

Sponsor Spotlight: DU helps answer, “What should I be when I grow up?”

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An important aspect of the Young AmeriTowne program is providing career exploration opportunities for elementary students.  Thanks to the University of Denver, fourth and fifth grade students can do this for free in the AmeriTowne College shop! Connor*, age 10, was a Career Counselor at the Young AmeriTowne College when Willow Creek Elementary ran the Towne this past spring.  His …

AmeriTowne On the Road Photo

Changing Lives: Alpine Bank brings AmeriTowne to Durango and Beyond

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What’s even more exciting than the last day of school?  A visit to Young AmeriTowne! During the last few weeks of their school year, 355 Durango-area students from eight different elementary schools experienced an exciting day in Young AmeriTowne.  Local presenting sponsor Alpine Bank made this experience possible for a fourth straight year. Through this portable version of Young AmeriTowne, …

Girl puts cash in Young AmeriTowne donation bin

Schlessman Family Foundation Creates a Culture of Giving in Young AmeriTowne

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Students from Willow Creek Elementary spent their second-to-last day of fifth grade at an exciting place: Young AmeriTowne!  This experience was even more memorable due to a special philanthropy presentation that included local nonprofits, all thanks to support from Schlessman Family Foundation. Young Americans first collaborated with Schlessman Family Foundation in 2000 to create a philanthropy lesson for Young AmeriTowne.  …

YouthBiz Startup Prototype made out of cardboard

Grant Beacon Middle School Students Solve Problems in YouthBiz StartUp

Janet Redwine YouthBiz Leave a Comment

“An entrepreneur is someone who builds something to make the world a better place.” –Jesalee, sixth grader at Grant Beacon Middle School, YouthBiz StartUp Participant On Tuesday, May 21, young entrepreneurs from Grant Beacon Middle School pitched their world-changing business ideas to wrap up their fourth quarter YouthBiz StartUp class.  Business pitches proved that these 13 sixth, seventh, and eighth …

Many students in International Towne exchange checks

Sponsor Spotlight: Aegon Transamerica Foundation Prepares Today’s Youth

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A recent report by the Federal Reserve Board finds that four in 10 American families are financially fragile: unable to meet a $400 emergency without going into debt. But there is hope!  Researchers studying financial fragility demonstrate that financial literacy “reduces the likelihood of being financially fragile by more than six percentage points…above and beyond the effects of educational achievement.” …

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Meet a Board Member: Steve Hills, Riveron

Janet Redwine General, Get Involved Leave a Comment

Young Americans Center for Financial Education is pleased to introduce you to Board Member Steve Hills, Managing Director at Riveron. With more than 15 years of experience in accounting financial leadership roles, Steve is an asset to the Young Americans Center Board.  At Riveron, he works to establish and develop client relationships, and he builds teams that consistently exceed client …

Presented by Honda Schomp Parts & Service Shop

Sponsor Spotlight: Real-World Learning in the Schomp Parts & Service Shop

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Today was a busy day in the Young AmeriTowne Parts and Service Shop named, “You Break It Me Fix It.”  Employees performed maintenance for vehicles in Towne and sold lollipops and sunglasses to their customers.  If it weren’t for the size of the shop and the age of the workers, who are all fifth graders at Aurora Academy, you would …