Way to Go! Westhampton teen teaches entrepreneurial skills
Kailey Perkins of Westhampton, a junior at The Chapin School in Manhattan, is the founder and CEO of Young Entrepreneur Scholars. Credit: Leslie Perkins
A Westhampton teen is aiming to give children in underserved communities and those with special needs the skills to be an entrepreneur.
Kailey Perkins, a junior at The Chapin School in Manhattan, is the founder and CEO of Young Entrepreneur Scholars, a nonprofit organization that teaches youngsters how to start their own businesses through a theme of baking. Since the organization's inception in 2018, she has worked with more than 250 children in the tristate area.
The nonprofit educates children about how to make baked goods and encourages them to host bake sales to raise money for a charity of their choice. Each participant also receives a tote bag that includes such items as aprons, icing and utensils.
Perkins has been conducting the workshops over Zoom since the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I wanted to give back to my community and teach kids skills that they could take with them throughout life," said Perkins, 17. "I feel that education is super important, especially in underserved communities."
Perkins also recently started a new curriculum within the organization called Restaurant Entrepreneurs in which children create restaurant concepts and tackle tasks that include designing logos, developing marketing strategies and learning business math. She also hopes to get other nonprofits and teachers involved that focus on children, particularly in underserved communities.
For more information on the organization, visit young-entrepreneur.org.
Kailey Perkins of Westhampton, a junior at The Chapin School in Manhattan, is the founder and CEO of Young Entrepreneur Scholars, a nonprofit organization that teaches youngsters how to start their own businesses through a theme of baking. Here she is instructing students at the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center in Manhattan. Credit: Leslie Perkins
— MICHAEL R. EBERT
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
