Turn a Student into a CEO by becoming a Mentor!

The Palatine Area Chamber of Commerce launched its fourth Young Entrepreneur Academy (YEA!) in November. We would like to invite you to support our students' experience by becoming a YEA! Business Mentor. As a Business Mentor, you'll have the opportunity to provide coaching, guidance, and direction to a business enterprise by helping the students develop and complete their business plan.

This mentoring experience, conducted at Winston Campus Junior High in Palatine, will have a significant impact on the students' ability to launch and run their own REAL, albeit modest, business or non-profit organizations.

YEA! Business Mentors commit to seven classroom visits, taking place each Wednesday from January 20- March 9th from 4:30- 5:30 p.m. at Winston Campus Junior High in Palatine. You'll have the opportunity to assist your student group in the process of developing and writing a business plan and creating an investor presentation used to request funding. We also encourage you to share your business experiences with the groups over the course of your meetings. Previous students have indicated that hearing first-hand accounts from members of the business community make a significant impact on what they are learning.

For more information or to sign up to be a Mentor, please contact the Palatine Chamber of Commerce at (847) 359- 7200 or info@palatinechamber.com.

The Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!)

The Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) is a groundbreaking and exciting year long class that transforms middle and high school students into real, confident entrepreneurs. Throughout the class, students develop business ideas, write business plans, conduct market research, pitch their plans to a panel of investors, and actually launch and run their own real, legal, fully formed companies and social movements. Founded in 2004 at the University of Rochester with support from the Kauffman Foundation, the Young Entrepreneurs Academy today serves thousands of students in communities across America. For more information about the Young Entrepreneurs Academy, please call (847)359-7200 or visit www.yeausa.org.