From the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship
FUTURE BUSINESS LEADERS PREPARE FOR NFTE FAIRCHESTER’S FAIRFIELD COUNTY-WIDE BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION ON JUNE 8
Since 1999, the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Fairchester has inspired high school students in economically disadvantaged communities to change their path by equipping them with the knowledge and tools they need to utilize their most valuable commodity: their creativity.
On Wednesday, June 8, five students from high schools in Bridgeport, Norwalk and Stamford will compete in the Fairfield County-Wide Business Plan Competition, where they will present their original business plans to a panel of distinguished judges made up of local entrepreneurs and business leaders. The First Prize-winner of the competition, which will be held at Norwalk Community College, will win $1,500 in seed capital and advance to NFTE’s National Competition in New York City this fall.
During the school year students in the NFTE program clock up to 100 hours of class time led by NFTE-certified teachers. As a result, over 300 students throughout Fairfield County are currently putting the finishing touches on business plans which they have been busily developing since September in preparation for the competition. Along with the NFTE teachers, leading entrepreneurs and executives from Fortune 500 companies volunteer to mentor the students, offering them their expertise, advice and support.
NFTE Fairchester is a division of the global-wide NFTE organization (www.nfte.com), which has increased the number of students served in their communities by 30 percent or more each year since 1999. Spanning two counties (Westchester and Fairfield), two states (New York and Connecticut), and eight school districts, the unique entrepreneurial curriculum for the year-long program guides students through a “mini-MBA” program which requires 70-100 hours of class time. As part of the program, students prepare business plans based on their individual interests and passions.
Approximately 1.2 million students in the U.S. drop out before graduating from high school. One-third of these dropouts are unemployed. In Westchester and Fairfield Counties, NFTE Fairchester has been changing the minds and lives of potential high school dropouts for over a decade, creating incentives to keep them in school and providing them with the tools to achieve their dreams as entrepreneurs in the business world.
About NFTE Fairchester
The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (www.nfte.com) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, whose mission is to provide entrepreneurship education programs to young people from low-income communities. The NFTE Fairchester Region was launched in 1999 in order to provide entrepreneurship training to the low-income young people of Westchester and Fairfield Counties. Since inception, NFTE Fairchester has served over 9,000 students.
