On Saturday, March 1st, the Best Buy Teen Tech Center at the Southside Boys & Girls Club hosted the Launch Camp for Youth in collaboration with Seed Spot. Teens from the Club and high school students from across Central Minnesota participated in an all-day event focused on team-building and developing innovative business solutions to everyday problems. Participants learned about problem identification, customer research, solution & prototyping, business model creation, and pitch preparation.
One group identified the issue of plastic pollution in the ocean and pitched a project aimed at reducing waste. Their initiative, Second Chance Totes, proposed a business model dedicated to ocean cleanups while promoting awareness through the sale of recycled tote bags. Their goal is to donate proceeds to local charities and educate the public on the harmful effects of plastic waste in the ocean.
Another group focused on increasing access to healthier foods in local communities through education on urban farming. They developed a project called S.A.M. (Soil and More), which envisions a system and an app that advocate for easier and more reliable farming methods while helping communities grow and access fresh, healthy produce.
Facilitated by Seed Spot and supported by the Best Buy Teen Tech Center, this youth camp aimed to provide teens with the knowledge and skills to explore entrepreneurship, turn their visions into reality, and develop business ideas that can make a difference in their communities.
This event is also part of the Boys & Girls Club’s CareerSTART program, where we encourage members to participate in career exploration by partnering with community organizations and businesses to offer age-appropriate training and workshops.
Get Involved with CareerSTART
CareerSTART incorporates a strong network of community support from employers, workforce centers, local schools and the community-at-large. Everyone can play an essential and unique role in building youth workforce readiness. There are a number of ways you can help youth explore, develop and apply skills through the CareerSTART program. Consider how you can get involved today!
- Provide a career guest speaker
- Provide a tour of your business
- Offer internships or job shadowing
- Support legislation for youth workforce readiness programs
- Sponsor CareerSTART
- Support CareerSTART as a Partner for the Future
Contact us at club@bgcmn.org to get involved with CareerSTART today.