By David Seduski | Development Associate
NFTE Los Angeles recently celebrated an incredibly successful end to our 2014 – 2015 school year. We were thrilled with the donations we received towards giving seed capital to our student participants in the Los Angeles Regional Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. Each of the 2,200 students empowered by NFTE Los Angeles this year was eligible to receive these prizes and they competed in classroom competitions. The donations we received through GlobalGiving helped us provide students with the opportunity to see the ideas they presented in their business plan come to life. Thanks again for your contributions.
The Los Angeles Regional Challenge was hosted by Creative Artists Agency on May 19th. The winners of the 63 classroom competitions, from 26 schools in the Los Angeles area, converged to pitch their business plan to a panel of local entrepreneurs. The reward: $3,000 in scholarships and prizes for the winner, along with a trip to New York City in October to present for a further $25,000 in prizes at the National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. With a chance to push their ventures closer to reality by winning, the NFTE students were on their game for their presentations.
The winner of the Los Angeles Competition was Crystal S. of Environmental Charter High School. Her business, Guardian Locket, is a unique personal safety device disguised as a piece of jewelry. When activated, a cellular chip inside the locket will alert the police and loved ones that the wearer is being attacked. “We live in a world where 1 out of 3 women has a chance at being sexually assaulted. These numbers are insanely high. Yet, we just live out our daily lives and most of us don’t do anything about it,” said Crystal, who focused on sexual assault against women in writing her senior thesis. “With [three] clicks, it’ll send your current location to the local authorities and whoever else you have listed on the app,” she explained during her presentation, which clearly impressed the judges. She displayed a prototype at the competition, and now is focused on raising further capital to fund a wider launch for the Guardian Locket.
Crystal’s success reaffirms NFTE Los Angeles’ mission to reach and teach more young people about the unlimited possibilities of entrepreneurship. Thank you again for your donations through the GlobalGiving platform.
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