Schools

Port Chester Students Challenged To Come Up With Business Plans

They're shooting for a chance to win $1,500 in seep capital.

High school students from and other economically disadvantaged communities have been challenged by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Fairchester for to use their creativity to learn all about business as part of a year-long program.

By the end of the year, they create original business plans and compete for the opportunity to make their plans a reality.

On Thursday, May 31, 25 students from high schools in Port Chester, Yonkers, Mount Vernon, and Greenburgh will participate in the Westchester County-Wide Business Plan Competition, for a chance to receive $1,500 in seed capital as the first place regional winner.

Find out what's happening in Port Chesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Last year’s countywide winner, , was a senior at Port Chester H.S.

The competition, which will be held at Westchester Community College, will include a preliminary and final round of competition as well as a reception hosted by President Joe Hankin. Students will present their original business plans to a panel of distinguished judges made up of local entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Find out what's happening in Port Chesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The First Prize-winner advances to NFTE’s National Competition in New York City this fall for an opportunity to win a prize of $10,000. The competitions are sponsored by MasterCard Worldwide and Pitney Bowes.

“This combination of passionate business volunteers complimenting the classroom work done by committed and talent teachers has a powerful impact on the way these young students begin think about their future in much more positive ways,” NFTE Executive Director Joel Warren said.

Throughout the school year, middle school and high school students in the program work with NFTE-certified teachers for more than 125 hours. They learn a great deal about math, planning, business and more as they explore the world of business in fun ways.

Some 1,000 students have been creating business plans throughout Westchester County this academic year. Leading entrepreneurs and executives from Fortune 500 companies volunteer, alongside the teachers, to provide students with expertise, advice and support. They visit classrooms and work along with students on their projects and show them how to take make their ideas more concrete.

“Classroom games and field trips reinforce lessons in a hands-on way that makes abstract concepts real," said Megan Freiler, development director of NFTE. "Most important is the wholesale buying trip and selling event where students learn firsthand the concept of buy low/sell high, and make their first profit while in the NFTE class.”

NFTE Fairchester works with students to combat the drop out statistics with a program that challenges students and provides them with the tools to achieve their dreams as entrepreneurs in the business world. Approximately 1.2 million students in the U.S. drop out before graduating from high school. One-third of these dropouts are unemployed.

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