In the eighth-grade social entrepreneurship capstone, students have been focused on bootstrapping and acquiring customers as a way to learn entrepreneurial lessons and develop an entrepreneurial mindset while launching their businesses. These budding entrepreneurs will leave TCS with the knowledge, attitude, and skills to bring their creative, problem-finding and problem-solving selves to any problem, big or small, to focus on impact and outcomes in their school or company or elsewhere.
The group will celebrate and reflect on the impact, challenges, and insights gleaned from launching social enterprises as the first class of TCS eighth graders at the inaugural TCS Pitch Day on Wed., March 27, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. at OxWork Business Club. Check out their profiles below:
Justin and Eli
Social Entrepreneurs and Artists
“Ever since I (Justin) was a child, music has been one of the most important aspects of my life. One of the things that I noticed about music at a young age is how it reflects the society around it. Eli and I are creating a rap album that focuses on social issues so that I may express my views on today’s society. We are also sending a portion of the proceeds to The Concrete Jungle so that we may solve one of the issues about which we’re rapping. Our first single is about not only a cause but a tribute to a wonderful human who lived a life fighting for causes in which she believed: Wilma Pollard.”
Gio
Social Entrepreneur and Baseball Enthusiast
“Every child should be able to hit a home run, even if he or she has a disability or special need. This matters to me because I love baseball and I want every kid to be able to play baseball. Not only am I helping a cause, but also capturing the sentiment of old baseballs by creating bracelets from them. So far, I have attracted 11 different customers and sold 17 bracelets.”
Lily
Social Entrepreneur and Baker
“There are lots of ways to communicate your beliefs to others and my business, Paws and Cakes, is doing that with baking. Combining my love for animals by donating to the Humane Society and using my skills for baking to make delicious baked goods allows me to share positivity and strong messages in a way everyone enjoys. A week ago, I held a raffle to win a homemade cake I had baked and raised $45. Paws and Cakes’ next raffle is going to be for a pack of activist cookies – like cookies decorated with designs that represent social issues.“
Sydney
Social Entrepreneur and Artist
“Imagine sitting at home drinking tea and realizing you are raising awareness by using a coaster. I am solving the problem of people not being aware of what is going on around them. I want people to engage and think on how they can help too. My business matters to me because social awareness should be part of our day-to-day living, not just a monthly theme. I like to become friends with my customers and get to know them because these coasters reflect their stories, too.”
Jeffrey
Social Entrepreneur and Programmer
“I have a wonderful grandmother that loves her iPad, but she often has trouble using it. This gave me the idea to create Newfangled Phones. Newfangled Phones is an app that contains video tutorials on how to use different features on your device. Why not use the internet? You benefit more from watching a tutorial rather than reading about it. My best resource is other people, including you, so if you have any suggestions or feedback I would love to hear them!”
Zoey
Social Entrepreneur and Baker
“Everyday shelters are overflowing with more and more dogs. These shelters don’t have much support financially and because of that, they are not in good living conditions for any animal. Because of this, they have to euthanize many dogs. I am selling homemade treats. These treats have limited ingredients so dogs with food allergies can enjoy delicious dog treats. A dollar from every bag goes to shelters all over Atlanta to help improve the living conditions of the dogs there. So far, I’ve attracted 10 customers!“
Nick
Social Entrepreneur and Artist
“Imagine riding down the streets of Atlanta or showing off your tricks at a skatepark with custom art. I create and sell stencils to spray paint many different designs on skating gear. My vision is for Atlanta to be filled with moving artwork.”
Alex
Social Entrepreneur and Author
“Do you know young people who spend most of their time doing mindless activities? Well, my product is perfect for helping children and adolescents read more. Let me introduce you to Vead. Vead merges reading and video to capture kids’ attention. Imagine you are reading a picture book and when you turn the next page there would be a picture. On Vead, instead of there being a picture, there would be a short video. The reason why I’m doing this is that personally I don’t really like books, but I want to read more. My product will help my peers also read more. Right now I am making a beta book using Book Creator, but later, as the business scales up, I’ll make an app. If it continues to grow, I’ll make a Kindle-like device.”
Max
Social Entrepreneur and Baker
“How can we fight world hunger as well as stimulating and engaging the minds of children? That is where my product comes in. I create homemade shortbread cookies with custom LEGO containers. I then proceed to donate a portion of the profit towards food banks. The LEGO container can be redesigned and played with, too. My goal is to spark creativity in children with the LEGO container and fight world hunger with the cookies. Will you help me on my journey to end world hunger?“
Anders
Social Entrepreneur and Investor
“Everyone has had that experience of buying a greeting card. You go to some massive complex and attempt to track down the card section. By the end, you have some overpriced, generic card that leaves you feeling out of touch with the person. Here at Thumb Cards Ink, we produce handmade greeting cards (and artwork!) out of your thumbprint. This adds a personal element not normally present in store-bought cards. These are made to your specifications and cost only three dollars.”
Payton
Social Entrepreneur and Craftsperson
“Have you ever noticed how the color blue makes you feel calm and peaceful while the color yellow makes you feel happy and energized? This phenomenon inspired the business concept for Positiviti Jewelry. I am creating solid and custom colored beaded bracelets. Each color bead has a different feeling associated with it. My mission is to spread positivity and joy through jewelry.”
