For the fourth summer, the Center for Economic Education at Lynchburg College is a co-sponsor for blue KIWI (Kids in the Workforce Institute) entrepreneurship camps for children between the ages of 8 and 12, as well as a new residential program, Grow One™ Summer Camp for rising seventh graders.
The City of Lynchburg Office of Economic Development, Center for Economic Education at Lynchburg College, and blue KIWI are partnering to offer a unique program, Grow One Summer Camp. Area schools have selected 50 promising rising seventh-grade students for one week of entrepreneurial education and experiences on the Lynchburg College campus from July15-20.
In addition to classroom activities, students will get to meet with the owner of the Hillcats and attend a game, meet with the owner of Putt-Putt to learn the difference between independent and franchise owners, do a ropes course through LC’s New Horizons program, and participate in a community service activity, according to Shirley Deen, co-founder and director of blue KIWI.
Students will work in small groups learning economic principles, entrepreneurship concepts, and important life and citizenship skills necessary for their future success. They will complete the Mini-Society® curriculum, developed by Dr. Marilyn Kourilsky, a former UCLA professor.
This program was made possible by the National Council on Economic Education through funding from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement. Donations from area businesses and numerous grants have augmented funding to make this program a reality.
Four day camps will also be held this summer: July 9-13, July 23-27, July 30-Aug. 3 and Aug. 6-10. The camp curriculum allows fifteen "campers" each session to start their own businesses and become a governing citizen in a true-to-life society. Local business persons are invited to share their entrepreneurial experiences with the campers to enrich their learning experiences. They also take campus tours during lunch periods to expose them to the College’s dining hall (a business within a business), classrooms, dorms, and library; and, an ice cream social and "launching" (graduation) which is held on Friday of each camp week. At that time, parents and friends are invited to shop at the children’s businesses.
Earlier this summer, LC’s Center for Economic Education offered a three-day workshop for teachers and adult volunteers to learn the entrepreneurship curriculum, underwritten by a grant made possible by the National Council on Economic Education through funding from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
For more information, contact Cheryl Ayers, director for the LC Center of Economic Education, at 544-8791 or Shirley Deen at 525-7899.