FutureWorks
- At the year-end Expo at OppenheimerFunds, Chinatown YMCA FutureWorks Program Instructor Erika Humphrey presented the first-place grant to Alberto, Amaury, Ademar and Tenzin for their company Bodega Treats, which operates out of Millennium High School.
FutureWorks is a year-round program offered for teens (13-18) who are interested in learning about how to start their own businesses. FutureWorks offers indispensable programming for youth who otherwise may never have been exposed to confidence and skill building activities that focus on business and the world of work. With lead funding from OppenheimerFunds, and additional help from a consortium of generous donors, the YMCA of Greater New York is able to offer entrepreneurial training to help teens start small ventures and to prepare them for a lifetime of responsibility, creativity, money and time management.
FutureWorks meets twice a week, either in-school or afterschool. All FutureWorks staff members are certified through the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship’s (NFTE) Certified Entrepreneurship Teacher Education Program. The primary goals of the FutureWorks program are to teach entrepreneurship, career awareness, and educational enrichment. Additional activities include recreation, leadership development, internships, and career exposure.
FutureWorks introduces participants to entrepreneurship as a viable career option by teaching them the skills, attitudes and values necessary to start and run their own businesses. Through their participation in FutureWorks, participants gain the knowledge and tools necessary to pursue higher education and set meaningful career goals. At the same time, participants are expected to maintain or improve their academic achievement and overall attitudes toward school. Click here for our fact sheet.
Program locations are as follows: