Youthful Savings – the company behind Youthful Savings Marketplace (YSM) – and the city of Santa Monica LEAD program will come together to celebrate young entrepreneurs with a selling showcase and networking event on July 29.
The young entrepreneurs are graduates of the My Own Business Challenge. All graduates have the ability to become online vendors on YSM. This event will give youth who are active vendors on YSM the opportunity to come to the famous Santa Monica Pier and have their own booth for the day where they can sell in-person their e-commerce products. Logistics and location on the Pier are provided to them by Greg Morena, outside of his 45-year-old family restaurant, The Albright.
The Santa Monica Police Department’s LEAD (Leadership, Engagement, Achievement, Discovery) program focuses on intervention and prevention strategies to help build leadership and practical skills among the youth they serve. The Pico Lab was created within the LEAD program for young people to learn entrepreneurship and it teaches young people how to start their own business and plug into existing economic avenues in our community. The LEAD program prides itself on being able to collaborate with allied professionals from different spaces.
Ana G. Jara, city of Santa Monica Youth and Family Services Support Coordinator, St Joseph’s Center, the Police Officers Association and Morena all helped create, fund and operate this innovative youth community and economic development program.
“The LEAD program x Youthful Savings can be the future of teaching our youth real life skills,” said Jara. “Young people have the innovation and creativity to bring about new systems and ways of life. It is our responsibility as adults to support that curiosity and gather resources toward that end. Youthful Savings is both connecting youth and helping change systems. We are grateful for their partnership and work. Young people need encouragement, support, services and tangible resources.”
The My Own Business Challenge is a course that teaches youth necessary business and financial empowerment skills. Each youth that is a part of the LEAD program is a subscriber to The Learning Marketplace which is the place where youth can come to learn practical and real-world skills such as entrepreneurship principles, conflict resolution, mental health education, information on bitcoin, the blockchain and how to invest. The youth marketplace provided by YSM ties all of this together by creating a way for these youth to showcase their learned skills through selling tangible goods. Youth are able to learn and earn while empowering themselves and their community.
About Youthful Savings:
Youthful Savings is a learning ecosystem dedicated to socioeconomic empowerment through mental wellbeing, economic empowerment and community development. Youthful Savings provides youth with online education through The Learning Marketplace and a platform to create global online businesses via Youthful Savings Marketplace. Through Youthful Savings, youth have the ability to create a more inclusive global economy. For more information, visit www.youthfulsavings.com
Submitted by Danny Donayre