2008 Youth Entrepreneurship Camps
Highlights of 2008 Youth Entrepreneurship Camps
“I learned a lot about business and what it takes but also while learning I made friends.”
Summer 2008 was a big year for REAL youth entrepreneurship camps in North Carolina. There were nine camps held across the state, with 160 young people between the ages of 10 and 18 learning about entrepreneurship and having a fun time in the process. At a REAL Entrepreneurship Camp, participants hear from local entrepreneurs, take part in hands-on activities to learn about assessing their community, assessing their own skills, creating a business idea. Throughout the week they work also in teams on a business plan including the marketing, financials, and operations. They create a commercial for the business and present their business plan to a panel of judges. Beyond being a wonderful introduction to entrepreneurship, they build their teamwork skills, presentation skills, and self-confidence.
A remarkable trait of all the camps was the partnering that took place across the community to make them happen. Seven of the camps were held on community college campuses, and the other two were held in community buildings. The camp held by UHURU Community Development Corporation partnered with Halifax Community College. The college provided UHURU a space and a computer lab for the camp. In Burke County, Western Piedmont Community College, 4-H, and Burke Partnership for Economic Development worked together to offer the camp free of charge and brought in speakers from farm businesses. At Piedmont Community College the local Chamber of Commerce helped provide food—key to keeping the students happy and productive.
There were also two theme camps this year. The camps combined entrepreneurship with an important component of the community. One theme camp was delivered by a partnership that included Carteret Community College and the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum. With funding from the Conservation Fund, the College and Museum created an entrepreneurship camp that taught students about the heritage and history of Harker’s Island and the Downeast community. Campers created businesses that reflected this heritage, including a tool that helps boats stuck on sand bars and a nature center that offers guided tours. The other theme camp was held at Wilkes Community College and introduced campers to advanced materials—a growing industry in the region. This camp was funded by the Golden LEAF Foundation. Students took part in a presentation by Martin Marietta Materials and learned about how composite materials are developed and tested. They were able to handle and test materials such as the blast proof panels that protect U.S. troops. Through the theme camps students were encouraged to think about developing businesses that capitalize on the assets on their community.
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College offered the camp only to high-school students and created a selection process. The Young Entrepreneurial Scholars (YES!) Camp required interested students to submit an application and recommendations and selected only the best, most serious students. The students who participated all entered the camp with their own business ideas that they hoped to turn into real enterprises one day soon.
Building a tradition
NC REAL has been involved with youth camps for over 10 years, but has only started to build the program recently. Two of the Youth Entrepreneurship Camps have been around for several years and have laid the ground work for the camp expansion. This summer was the fourth year for Carteret Community College and the third year for Piedmont Community College. Betsy DeCampo, Business and Industry Coordinator at Carteret, attended a REAL Youth Camp Training in 2004 and held their first camp that summer. Since then, Carteret has held a camp every summer and developed a Heritage Camp for the Harker’s Island community. Randy Reynolds, Small Business Center Director of Piedmont Community College learned about Carteret’s camp and organized a camp and brought in Betsy to facilitate the camp in 2005. Since then, both Betsy and Randy have provided guidance and advice to others who want to offer a camp in their community. Both the Carteret and Piedmont camps offer help with entrepreneurship merit badges for Boy Scouts.
Trainings
If you are interested in starting a youth entrepreneurship camp in your community consider attending the next Youth Entrepreneurship Camp training. It is a two-day training that covers the camp curriculum and how to deliver the camp program. It also includes advice and time to plan the camp from recruitment to fundraising. Participants leave with the camp curriculum, planning tools, support network, and a strategy for implementation. The next camp training will be scheduled sometime in late 2009 or early 2010. Contact Malinda Todd at 919-781-6833 ext.126 if you would like to receive information about upcoming camp trainings.