Connecting YouthQuest & Home: YQ, Inc. 2

Last November, YouthQuest students began learning about how to plan and run a business. Now students are at it again with YQ, Inc. 2.

By building on what they learned in November, students are participating in age-appropriate economic activities to increase their knowledge in a fun way – all in preparation for the YQ, Inc. Business Fair event on May 5 at the Flint Farmers’ Market.

“We are excited for our YQ, Inc. event this May,” said Cheryl Adkins, program director of YouthQuest. “This event is a way for our future entrepreneurs to foster and develop their business skills. They will demonstrate those skills by selling their products to the public.”

According to Adkins, students will increase their financial literacy by learning:

• The distinction between a want and a need.
• Profit-sharing, a system in which employees of a company receive a direct share of the profits.
• Why businesses advertise. Older students will create new products and develop advertising campaigns that they will present to their class.

To extend students’ learning beyond YouthQuest, families can use some of the following activities to keep youth engaged at home in the evenings and weekends:

1. Take your student shopping with you and show them how to shop within a budget. Or give them a budget of their own and let them make their own purchases (and possibly purchasing mistakes).
2. Introduce the three-jar method to encourage budgeting and help them decide how they want to spend, save, and share their money.
3. Encourage your student to set savings goals, then find a clear piggy bank so they can see their savings grow.

FOR OLDER STUDENTS

YouthQuest’s middle and high school programs aim to teach STEM through short-term and long-term clubs. At Flint Southwestern Academy, students participate in the Banking on Our Future & Hope Business in a Box program, which is made possible through a partnership with Operation Hope and Huntington Bank. Students learn about budgeting, smart banking, credit vs. debit, and savings and interest. After learning about finances, students will develop a startup product or service from beginning to end. This includes developing a business plan and sales pitch, which they will present a pitch in a Shark Tank-style competition.  If their pitch is selected, students will receive funding for their business.

YouthQuest is made possible through the generous support of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and 21st Century Community Learning Centers.

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