We All Say We Want Change - But What Are We Actually Doing?

It is important for our communities to see themselves as a whole, coming together to lift one another up. Unfortunately, we often lose sight of togetherness and instead, find ways to isolate ourselves, choosing to stick to specific groups, pass judgement on younger generations, and divide instead of unite.  We need to start realizing that our youth are our future. Instead of standing idly by and watching the young generation stray from the path of success, we should be finding ways to provide guidance, structure, and inclusion.  We need to provide the resources necessary for our youth to grow, learn, and succeed.  

We at Street2Ivy believe in empowering our youth to make change through entrepreneurship. We've seen how a strong financial backing can help spark change, so we encourage our students to build their own businesses. Oftentimes, there is much standing in the way of success, especially in urban communities where families do not have the same resources as other communities to excel. They're stuck in a vicious cycle of a lack of financial literacy and direction. In an effort to provide new and exciting opportunities, we partnered with the NAACP’s Boston Branch and the Governor’s office of Roxbury to launch a 6 week Entrepreneur Program where students were taught the fundamentals of designing, marketing and scaling a business. 

These community programs help elevate our brand to be more than just a marketplace. It’s a place for young entrepreneurs to come together, learn, support one another, and have a platform to share their products and services with the world.  

It has become something of a social norm to look down at how our younger generations are progressing. We typically compare our successes with their failures, and undermine their efforts. As a community we have a deep rooted characteristic of competition - and it is this competition that keeps us isolated. We are too often worried about out performing and showing our dominance that we forget to embrace our community members and bring them with us to the top. In order for change to happen we need to share our experiences and failures so that those following us know what to avoid. 

We have the power to effect change in the lives of the young - we just need to start making it a priority.  

By taking an interest in encouraging entrepreneurship, we are helping the society of tomorrow. One day, we are going to be handing this world over to this budding generation and it’s up to us to give them the tools they need to succeed. A plant doesn’t grow without water and sunlight. Giving this generation the encouragement and support they need will allow them to do the same for the generation after them and so forth. The wave of revival starts with us. Nurturing and guiding our youth has the ability to break so many chains that have bound our people from succeeding.  

It is Street2Ivy’s mission to see others succeed and help them find their place in the world. We provide marketing materials for our vendors to sell more product, and that’s why we have the Entrepreneurship Program. By giving our youth the chance to excel, the element of fear is taken away from the equation. It is often fear of failure that keeps young people from becoming the creative, independent individuals they can be. We are here to lend a hand, provide support where needed, and encourage young people to take the risk. This program provides the tools and shows the path to becoming your own boss and a future leader.

We want to encourage others to invest their time and available resources into our children. Change doesn’t happen overnight - it is gradual. The small choices we make today to encourage rather than put down will affect a larger change tomorrow.

We’d like to encourage all of you to join us in supporting our young entrepreneurs by supporting our marketplace! By purchasing a Street2Ivy branded watch, you’ll become an impactful part of the work we do and the children we help. 100% of all proceeds will go directly back into supporting community programs like the Entrepreneur Program, or we can launch a new program in your area. If you want to get involved and help put on a community program for your youth, just reach out to us and we’ll help you schedule one in your area!

Don’t forget, supporting Street2Ivy will make you a part of a life changing effort to help our youth become the successful leading adults of tomorrow.