Thank you, intern and Wayne State University Library Science student Rachel Manela for writing about the importance of adult support to youth success and reporting on our Detroit Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge event. 

In its inaugural year, the Detroit Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge was a great success! The event would not have been possible without the propping up of the young people by adult community members who supported the young entrepreneurs from idea development to execution. A flyer went out about a “Shark-Tank” style competition where young people age 10-24 could compete for funding for their business ideas. Eight groups were invited to the first round of interviews at Community Connections, and 4 made it through to the final round. These four groups received a month of free consultation from Laura Sigmon of Best Practices Consulting Services, then it was time for the main event!

On July 31st 2019, four business teams made their pitches to a panel of four judges who are Detroit entrepreneurs. The prize; up to $7,500 to help with their project. A rubric was passed out to the competitors and judges, and based on those scores from the 4 judges, the winners were determined. Cooking with a Purpose came first, Culinary Pleasures was second and 2BJeweled and TAJ Inspirations were also awarded some funds. The winners will also receive continued business consulting to help them develop their plans. The goal was to inspire, encourage, and invest in young entrepreneurs in Detroit.

The development and execution of such a program would not have been possible without the adult mentors who supported these young people to reach their full potential. Rhonda Kennedy, Yolanda Scarborough, and Sharon Dumas are three women anyone would be happy to have in their corner. They donated time, resources, and expertise to help these young entrepreneurs succeed.

Rhonda does community outreach with the FBI and connected with the young people on the Culinary Pleasures team through Alkebu-lan Village Community Center. She described her role as mentor as, “being there.” She worked to oversee the plans, keep the kids on track, and show them that they had someone in their life who believed in them. When asked about how the actual day of the event felt Rhonda said; “It was amazing, it felt like we were on TV.”

Yolanda Scarborough worked with Cooking with a Purpose, the winning team. She connected with this group of young people through her work as program director of Detroit Food Academy. She taught them about cooking and healthy eating. Through this experience she learned that, “our young people are smart and should be given a chance to lead.” And, when asked about adult support she said, “It’s everything. It combats hopelessness and stands in the gap between schools, community outreach, and the home.” The hardest part was keeping the young people together and focused, but on the day of the Challenge Yolanda felt, “complete, as if they had come full circle.”

Sharon Dumas oversaw two teams; TAJ Inspirations and 2BJeweled. She has been the director of Full and Fabulous – Curvy Girl Project for 37 years. She had her teams make a promise to commit to finish the project, and did everything in her power to ensure their success, including providing rides to and from home, and paying for teachers to teach her teams how to sew and make jewelry. Sharon remembers feeling as if her teams “shined through” on the day of the challenge and she is trying to encourage some of her young people to become mentors for the next group.

The adult support did not go unrecognized by the young people they helped. Brandon, age 22, from Cooking with a Purpose explained that his mentor helped his group to, “flourish and grow and made them feel as if their voices were heard.” The day of the event he was nervous but excited. Patrice, age 15, sees Sharon Dumas as a second mother who helps her with life problems. From this experience Patrice learned that she is, “never going to be alone” and there are lots of opportunities if one is willing to work.

When asked, the young people and their mentors all said that they would “absolutely”  do something like this again. The Detroit Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge shows that when young people are given the support and resources necessary to succeed, they will work hard and rise to the challenge.