Young Leadership Collaborative is a four-month scholarship entrepreneur program for students ages 16 to 23 in the Sacramento area . Participating students each receive a college scholarship and meet twice a month to learn how to create and brand their own businesses . More than 200 students have graduated from the program since it was established in 2008 .
“ We invite entrepreneurs and business owners from the community to speak to the students about how to start their own businesses , with monthly topics such as business models , mission and vision , and branding ,” says Kaifa Charles Yates , YLC program coordinator . “ Students will design their own business , present it to our committee and we ’ re going to try to help them make that business become a reality . Our 2021 cohort had 15 students and my goal is to double that in 2022 .”
Yates is also the program coordinator for the SBCC ’ s Parent Advocacy Program , which teaches parents throughout the Sacramento region how to advocate for their schools and for their children as students . PAP was launched in 2019 , with its third cohort starting this month . PAP is open to all parents of students attending Fortune charter schools — eight public charter schools in the Sacramento area founded by educator Margaret Fortune to close the African American achievement gap through a holistic , college-preparatory curriculum . Each PAP cohort is provided with three sessions , including a field day where they attend a City Council meeting to use the skills and tools they ’ ve acquired .
“ Often parents don ’ t know how to advocate for their students at City Council meetings and this program provides the skill sets and opportunities for them ,” Yates says . “ Many parents want to speak upon issues related to charter schools but don ’ t know how to go about it , so we invite speakers with advocacy and City Council experience to talk about how to be a good advocate .”
Jennifer von Geldern is a freelance writer who covers regional businesses , charities , events and the people who enrich our communities .
14 comstocksmag . com | November 2021