Students help out students and learn the ropes of business at the same time

By Tina Comeau

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

When students at the Yarmouth Adult High School brainstormed to come up with an idea of who in the community could benefit from a business they were setting up, the answer seemed obvious.

Why not have students benefit from students?

Last week three elementary schools in the area received some special deliveries from the adult high students. The school supplies, sports supplies and funding the schools received represented the profits the students had earned as part of a business they had pursued through the guidance of CBDC’s Students in Business program – more specially, the social enterprise pilot projects. “What we want them to be is entrepreneurial so that from start to finish they create a business plan, they market their business and figure out what they want to do,” explains Karla Nickerson of CBDC, who helped facilitate the program with the adult high school. “And when they make money, all of the proceeds are giving back to the community, so it’s giving back socially.”

What the adult high students decided to pursue as a business was a fun day at the YMCA that targeted elementary-school-aged children. The students discovered that just because the word ‘fun’ was in the title, it didn’t mean there wasn’t a lot of work involved.

The students had to fill out a business plan and apply for a loan. Because they intended to run a canteen they had to determine how much inventory they required, how much it would cost and anticipate how many kids would attend. On top of that came advertising and marketing, concepts important to any business.

Adult high school student Paula Doucet liked the fact that what they raised would go back into the community. Helping out elementary schools was an appealing aspect she said. “I have two kids in elementary school and I see a lot of kids that don’t have a lot,” Doucet says. “I thought it was a great idea to give back to the elementary schools.”

Through the May 3 fun day $430 was raised, which was divided up among three elementary schools. After talking with the principals of the schools money was donated to South Centennial School to pay the lunches of 10 students for the remainder of the school year; outdoor sports equipment was donated to Central School and school supplies and shoes were purchased for a couple of students at Plymouth School. “It was a great experience,” says Doucet.

Nickerson, meanwhile, was thrilled local elementary schools benefited from the experience, and is also glad the adult high students benefitted from the concepts of and running a business. “Our whole mandate of Students in Business is to encourage the entrepreneurship in students to get them to stay here,” she says, adding Students in Business has a program where they can lend up to $5,000 in loans to help students start up their own business. “And with the social aspect they’re giving back to the community,” she adds. “They’re not just focusing on themselves and making a profit, they’re also focusing on giving something back.”