The Young Entrepreneur Program teaches elementary, middle, and high-school students about entrepreneurship. Throughout our program, students learn about product design, market research, how to build a business plan, budgeting and marketing, as well as giving students the opportunity to be approved for a loan by pitching their products at our version of Dragon’s Den.  At the end of our program, students sell their manufactured products at a trade show, allowing them to repay their loan, learn to give back by donating a small percentage to charity, and keeping the profits.

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Project My Generation focuses on preventing the spread of white-nose syndrome in the little brown bat population.  This disease is causing them to become endangered which impacts the agricultural industry.  Our solution to this problem is to build and sell bat houses, which gives the bats a safe place to hibernate which slows the spread of the disease.

Project stARTup provides local students with art and business skills to help them generate an income upon graduation from high school.  This 6-week program teaches participants various forms of art including sketching, acrylic, and watercolor painting, as well as how to build a personal brand and run a business so that they can then sell their art.

The Square Roots Token Program aims to address food waste and food insecurity within our community.  It connects all community members together through a $5 token. This program helps maximize participating restaurants revenue while reducing their food waste and provides inexpensive, quality meals for customers.  One token = one meal.  

Program materials courtesy of Enactus St. Mary’s.

To Bee Continued is a project that aims to create habitats for natural bee species while simultaneously educating the community about bees and their preservation. We have learned that bees such as the alfalfa leafcutter and the alkali bees are critical to local agriculture because they play an essential role in the pollination process, however many of these species are close to extinction. Therefore, we are working with environmental reclamation students to research optimal living environments and create solutions for our little buzzing friends.