MISSION: The mission is to empower African American youth and families to become entrepreneurs. This will be accomplished by youth Entrepreneurship training, motivations to dream and by exposing them to successful businesses.

GOAL: The goal is to plant the seeds of entrepreneurship in the minds of youth, encourage them to stay in school and to consider entrepreneurship as a career option.

WHAT WE BELIEVE: We believe that Youth Entrepreneurship Training and Exposure are effective ways to reverse the above trends, and by teaching youth the value of education, how to manage their resources – time, talent and money – enables them to develop the skills necessary to become successful participants within the economic system.

In 2007, AYO developed a 36 week entrepreneurship program, which includes business and technology curriculums. The Youth Entrepreneurship program helps bridge the gap between academics and real world entrepreneurial experience with a supportive environment that includes local business advisors and mentors. In collaboration with local businesses during our 48 week entrepreneurship training we motivate students to stay in school, stay out of trouble and visit local businesses and institutions, which would otherwise be impossible.

February 2008 16 student’s ages 12-19 successfully complete the Tiger Woods Start Something Program

May 14 – 17, 2008, in collaboration with Dayton Design Technology high School we took 12 students and three adults to the Black Enterprise Conference in Charlotte, NC. This conference provided the youth EXPOSURE and the opportunity to have an interaction with other youth and business executives.

September 2008, Dr. Kurt Stanic, Superintendent Dayton Public Schools received a presentation of the AYO Youth Entrepreneurship Training Program and stated that the AYO Youth Entrepreneurship after school training program would be good for the Dayton Public Schools.

In January 2011, Mr. Jones met with Dr. Carole Hardeman at Langston University, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and discussed the potential for a collaborative training initiative.  This meeting led to Dr. Hardeman accepting to serve as the FOUNDATION Board Chair.

March 2011, Dr. Hardeman presented the collaborative concept to the Superintendent of Millwood Arts Academy Middle School and Langston University. A collaborative agreement was formed with Millwood Arts Academy Middle school and progress on-going with Langston University.

On April 7, 2011, Dr. Hardeman, and William T. Pollard, Jr., the Foundation Board Co-Chair participated in a joint program development meeting at Langston University

July, 2011, Dr Jeanette Jones, Professor/Director Center for Biomedical, Behavioral and Environmental Health Research at Alabama A&M University joined our National Development Team to chair the STEM after school training program

July, 2011, Dr, Arthur Thomas, Former Central State University President, Currently Program Manager at Morgan State University joined our National Development Team to support Alliance Development.

October 21,2011 Grady Davis, a member of our National Development Team made a brief president on the Foundation to General Electric Management Group.

October 27, 2011, The Foundation received a partnership offer from NASA to improve our after school STEM training.

Instead of considering volunteering as something you do for people who are not as fortunate as yourself, begin to think of it as an exchange.

Consider that most people find themselves in need at some point in their lives. So today you may be the person with the ability to help, but tomorrow you may be the recipient of someone else’s volunteer effort. Even now you might be on both sides of the service cycle: maybe you are a tutor for someone who can’t read, while last month the volunteer ambulance corps rushed you to the emergency room. Volunteering also includes “self-help.” So if you are active in your neighborhood crime watch, your home is protected while you protect your neighbors’ homes, too. Adding your effort to the work of others makes everyone’s lives better

We provide youth entrepreneurship training. The AYO entrepreneurship training can be fun for youth – but beyond the fun, students can achieve very positive results. By learning how academic skills connects to business opportunities and hopes for success, students can be motivated to work harder and stay in school. The AYO program:

1. Create employment opportunities when students start new businesses.
2. Allow at-risk-youth the opportunity to succeed regardless of their background
3. Promote social and culture identity
4. Builds a stronger sense of community
5. Give youth a sense of meaning and     belonging

WHY YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP TRAINING

Entrepreneurship training is a key driver of our economy. Wealth and a high majority of jobs are created by small businesses started by entrepreneurially minded individuals, many of whom go on to create big businesses. People exposed to entrepreneurship frequently express that they have more opportunity to exercise creative freedoms, higher self esteem, and an overall greater sense of control over their own lives. As a result, many experienced business people political leaders, economists, and educators believe that fostering a robust entrepreneurial culture will maximize individual and collective economic and social success on a local, national, and global scale. It is with this in mind that the National Standards for Entrepreneurship Education were developed: to prepare youth and adults to succeed in an entrepreneurial economy.

Benefits of Entrepreneurship Training - The Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education -sponsored Think Tank recently worked on group consensus about the different outcomes for entrepreneurship programs at various levels of education.

The Think Tank is a voluntary “future thinking” group composed of a wide selection of educators who are practitioners in a variety of settings, educational levels, and locations throughout the US and beyond. While the results are not based on formal scientific research, they are provided here for the purposes of discussion and orientation to the concepts underlying the National Content Standards for Entrepreneurship Education.

Benefits to Students

• Increased sense of “locus of control”
• Consider steps in business startup
• Continue on to high school and college
• Improved academic skills
• Increased self-esteem and respect
• Heightened awareness of the role of entrepreneurs
• Decrease in teen pregnancies and substance abuse
• Improved financial literacy
• Identify legitimate sources of capital
• Evaluate ownership structures
• Translate problems into opportunities
• Demonstrate financial management
• Use components of a business plan

The Challenges Facing At-Risk-Youth A recent Annie E. Casey Foundation report estimates that “4.3 million youth in this country have not progressed beyond a high school diploma and are neither employed nor enrolled in postsecondary education. Youth experiencing this “disconnection” from the economic mainstream make up nearly 15% of all 18-24 year olds, and illustrate the magnitude of a national “opportunity divide” that is getting worse. Compounding the problem is the fact that most new jobs, and virtually all that offer wages sufficient to support a family, require at least some education and training beyond high school, even at the entry-level (Carnevale and Reich 2000). Even one year of postsecondary education increases lifetime earnings by 5 to 15 percent per year. The result is a dual class economy where the people that stand to benefit the most from higher education and career opportunities find it hardest to do so. Without proper guidance and opportunities, these young adults will continue to face enormous challenges in transitioning from high school to higher education and family-supporting careers.

At the same time, the country’s fastest growing demographic groups (Latinos and African Americans) are receiving comparatively less education. 29% of Latinos and 15% of African Americans drop out of high school. As a result, a growing number of low-income, minority youth leave high school lacking either the credentials and/or the skills to advance toward a college degree-essentially guaranteeing that they will struggle to earn a family-supporting income in today’s economy. Many will enter college only to become discouraged and drop out; others will cycle in and out of job training and adult education programs, never getting beyond low-paying jobs with little prospect of advancement. Without proper guidance and opportunities, these young adults will continue to face enormous challenges in transitioning from high school to achievement in successful careers and higher education.

MEETING THE CHALLENGES – AYO Youth Entrepreneurship Training help at-risk-youth meet the challenges by planting the seed of entrepreneurship in their mind. Mr. Jones recognizes that many at-risk youth are from families households that do not have entrepreneurship experiences or training and therefore, entrepreneurship awareness must be offered from sources such as the AYO after school entrepreneurship training.

Volunteering means something different to everyone, but it’s always worth the effort. Today, millions of people are helping to make a difference in their neighborhoods and across the nation by lending their time and compassion.

Volunteers connect people to hope and offer a new chance to build a stronger community. It usually starts with a single act of kindness, but it often leads to a lifetime of enriching experiences.

The Foundation is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation, Youth Entrepreneurship and STEM Service Provider, which provides after school Entrepreneurship and STEM training to youth ages 8-19.

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute my time, skills and dollars to help the Foundation deliver quality after school entrepreneurship and STEM training to underserved youth. In 1965, while serving in Viet-Nam, I witnessed kids struggling to survive in poor and depressed environments, kids were used by adults to commit criminal acts even when these activities put the kids in danger. In 1998, while lecturing in Jamaica, West Indies, to adults and kids during a Christian Leadership Training Mission, again there were adults and kids that were under nourished, and fearful that they were trapped in a devastating environment. Each environment was much worse than the environment of the Georgia farm where I grew up. Yet, they had HOPE and FAITH that one day they would have a better life

Alliance Development to support youth after school training

The Foundation is seeking partnerships with government agencies, institutions and major corporations to support our after school youth development training programming. We believe that meaning dialogs between interested parties will result in the development of short and long term goals which will benefit all participants.

If you want to make a difference in the lives of at-risk youth, then we want you on our team. We are actively recruiting volunteers now for our year-round classes.

Individuals: May participate as Guest Speakers

Share learning on industry topics such as Entrepreneurship, E-Commerce, Leadership, and other interest areas. Time Commitment: One hour session.

Job Coaches: Assist with job preparation including resume writing and mock interviewing. Time Commitment: 1-2 hours. Colleges Advisors: Assist with the application process, including writing essays and financial aid forms. Time Commitment: 1-2 hours per week.

Curriculum Advisors: Work one-on-one with students learning technical skills (e.g. Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and HTML). Time Commitment: In person, by phone, or by email – 2+ hours per week for 3-6 months.

Instructors: Teach the AYO Youth Entrepreneurship Training Curriculum as a member of our learning team. Time Commitment: 2-3 days per week.

Company Tours: Allow AYO students to visit your businesses and let them shadow your employees for an afternoon, or give them a tour of your business

Iddings Foundation

Ms. Maribeth A. Graham, Administrator

Suite 1620, Kettering Tower

Dayton, OH 45423

Levin Family Foundation

Ms. Karen Levin

111 West First Street, Suite 848

Dayton, OH 45402

Premier Health Partners

Chip Neilson, Diversity Recruitment

40 W. Fourth St., Suite1300

Dayton, OH 45402

Bob Ross Buick

Norma J. Ross, President

82 Loop Road

Centerville, OH 45459

Dayton Power & Light

Ginny Strausburg

Executive Director, DP&L Foundation

1065 Woodman Drive

Dayton, OH 45432

Standard Register

David Clapper, Committee Chair

Linda Well, Human Resource Manager

600 Albany Street

Dayton, OH 45408

National City

Eric J. Henry, Sr.

Privat Banking

6 North Main Street

Dayton, OH 45412-2320

GMW Management, Inc

William T. Pollard, Jr., President

535 Far Hills Avenue, Suite 311

Dayton, OH 45429-2317

Robert Murphy, President

Dayton Dragons Professional Baseball Team – Fifth Third Field

P.O. Box2107

Dayton, OH 45401-2107

MARTIN Management Group

Gail Martin, President & CEO

1065 Ashley Street, Suite 100

Bowling Green, Kentucky 42103

Dayton Primary & Urgent Care

Morris Brown, M.D.

301 W. First Street

Dayton, OH 45402

Jamestown Morine Industries, Inc.

Sylvester Townsend, President & CEO

2290 ARBOR Blvd

Morine, OH 45439

Alvarene N. Owens, Attorney at Law

1101 Salem Ave

Dayton, OH 45406

Rena W. Roberts, Designer

Roberts Jewelers

3121 Far Hills Ave

Dayton, Ohio 45429

Anthony Jordan,

7101 Executive Center Drive, Suite 333

Brentwood, TN 37027