EYE for Change

Vital Stats

Natasha C

Gwynn Oak, MD

  • people helped527
  • People Doing It 0

The Problem

My project addresses a need for entrepreneurship and financial education among youth. In the United States school systems only focus on scholastic education, which is how to read, write, and do arithmetic. Most times traditional schooling does not teach the youth how to become an entrepreneur nor does it teach students how to be financially literate. Surprisingly, parents do not even teach the latter to their students. Young people definitely want to learn about entrepreneurship. In fact a Gallup poll reported, 84% of students said that it is “important” (36%) or “very important” (48%) that schools teach more about entrepreneurship and how to start a business. Raising the financial intelligence of youth is paramount because "young people today have tremendous spending power, but clearly lack the understanding and skills to properly wield it." EYE for Change seeks to change that by helping them understand the importance of creating passive income from investments, real estate, as well as investing for retirement. I believe that every young person, no matter what color or background, should at least have exposure to entrepreneurship as a career option. Life is about choices and the more choices one has the more power one has over his/her life. I want young people to have a choices and power.

Plan of Action

EYE for Change has made a significant impact on youth in its few years of existence. Originally ran as a student organization for two years, we have helped 529 youth to date through our annual conference. EYE for Change reaches youth in across Maryland (Calvert, Baltimore, Hartford and Prince George's County) Washington DC, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Ohio, New York and Illinois. EYE for Change has been in existence for three years. To date EYE for Change has raised approximately $30,000. EYE for Change partners include EDAC of Morgan State University, Community Law Center, Evoku Enterprise Solutions, The Markim Multimedia Group, CEO Net Worth, and Eventuous MD. EYE for Change, Inc will become sustainable by packaging our core services as a product to sell to educators and community associations. We will be able to implement a skimming pricing strategy because we are bringing an innovative product to market.

Project Updates

Our project was great! We connected with Shake & Bake family fun center in historic west baltimore. We signed up to help the community and also learned about the precious history of the African Americans who used to inhabit that once thriving community. It showed the residents that youth do care about the community and are willing to volunteer their time to help.

The Do Something Grant allowed us to complete this project. When our youth wore the shirts during the community service project it attracted lots of attention in the community. In addition, it added credibility to our organization.

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