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The ultimate goal of The Institute is to educate individuals for employable occupations or upgrades into new positions, thus supplying the community with tax-paying citizens.

Bits and Bytes in the News

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�Young Entrepreneurs get a boot out of Business Camp�

They haven�t passed into adulthood yet, but a group of young people entered the ranks of entrepreneurs recently, displaying their wares at an event near Grand Center.

The YWCA�s Young Entrepreneurs Showcases was the first such event held by the nonprofit group, said YW-Teens Program Specialist Netria Hall.

Hall, who joined the YWCA a year ago, organized the showcase Sept. 10 at the YWCA at 2711 Locust Street in St. Louis.

Among the half-dozen or so participants was a group that also was part of another first- members of the Summer Youth Entrepreneur Leadership Boot Camp. Bits & Bytes Computer Training of Belleville recruited 40 low-income young people from St. Clair, Monroe, Clinton, Washington and Randolph countries in Illinois to join the camp.

Bits & Bytes Chief Executive Linda Calmese divided the participants, ages 14 to 20, into four groups. She encouraged them to dream up and run a business for the summer.

In particular, the YWCA showcase and the boot camp aimed to foster entrepreneurship among minorities, Hall and Calmese said. �It�s important to encourage entrepreneurship in our (African- American) community for the main reason that it empowers us,� Hall said. It gives us resources; it gives us hope. It�s disheartening to walk around and see that everything among you is from someone who is not like you.�

Both programs are aimed at not only instilling the notion of becoming a business owner, but of being a successful employee when the students join the working world.

�A lot of the kids were from inner city, and they don�t know about people being doctors and lawyers, because they don�t see that as role models,� Calmese said.

The boot camp was funded with $100,000 in Workforce Investment Act funds through the St. Clair County Intergovernmental Grants Department Employment and Training Division said Divisions Director Scott Rhoden.
�We would like to continue nest summer, since it was so successful,� he said. Funding will depend on how much Congress approves for Workforce Investment Act programs in the upcoming budget process.

One of the challenges the young entrepreneurs faced was finding outlets to sell their goods and services. Often they sold them through churches, family newspaper ads and the Internet.

Two of the boot camp teams were profitable over the eight- week course. Nija Enterprises sold colorful pillows they made at a profit of $560. The Entrepreneurs of the Future sold baskets of personal pampering items, earning $469, Calmese said.

The YWCA Showcase lacked a budget to promote the event, which was sparsely attended. But is still helped solve the sales outlet problem, participants said.

Hall plans to seek more sponsors next year and widely promote the event to boost attendance.

�My goal is to double it and have 15 vendors next year,� Hall said. �We are not only focusing on kids; we know there are adults out there who have a dream and don�t know how to bring it to fruition.

Next year�s showcase also will offer workshops on getting products and services to market as well as promoting them, she said.

�We can always get them started and say, �Hey, you can do this,�� Hall said.