Changemakers: Teens Who Learn and Earn

From a girl-owned coffee shop in rural Staples, MN. to organic farms and farm markets in urban East St. Paul, teens across the state of Minnesota are leading the way toward sustainable change for their communities, their families, and themselves. These youth are part of a larger national movement called Youth Social Entrepreneurship (YSE). Driven in part, by the downturn in the job market, YSE has become a dramatically creative, effective, youth-led approach to adolescent development. Championed by kids, supported by adults, these initiatives give teens real life business development opportunities and jobs, which are often, money-making. These life-altering experiences provide exuberant hope to young minds and hearts and become significant steps towards building successful futures. Adolescents committed to YSE enterprises discover opportunity to be a part of something bigger than themselves, ie., positive social change and at the same time, gain insight that they are change makers for their own futures and for peers, that otherwise may have been left behind. Changemakers introduces teens, parents, educators, mentors and funders to 4 Youth Social Entrepreneurship groups in Minnesota to explain how they accomplished what they did and how teens that you care about, can do it in your home town, too!