Social Entrepreneurship: Design with Empathy, Build for Impact!

Have you ever heard of the title “Kidpreneurs”? Some of today’s most inspiring entrepreneurs, like Ryan Hickman or Jahkil Jackson, started businesses when they were children to solve social problems they saw in their own lives, from reducing waste flowing into our oceans to distributing “blessing bags” to the homeless community. You too will be able to prove that doing good and building successful businesses do go hand in hand, as your ideas create positive impact and economic value at the same time. We’ll start by understanding real human needs, and you’ll listen closely to who you’re designing for and why that problem matters. You’ll move into a fast-paced hackathon-style building to turn your ideas into quick prototypes for testing, improving, and reiterating. As Masters go through their design iterations, we want them to think like founders and share their story to the public to gather supporters and recognition. Join us at the NORY Impact Exhibit, where the other campers will listen to their mission-driven ventures, learning how true “Kidpreneurs” connect empathy, engineering, and entrepreneurship to change the world.

Campers Will:

• Build and iterate mission-driven prototypes during hackathon-style sprints to test human-centered ideas, gather feedback, and refine solutions for real social problems
  
• Design a Digital Kickstarter Campaign by using website-building tools to detail the end-to-end cycle, from initial ideation to "stretch goals" and future project directions.
  
• Pitch their social ventures at the NORY Impact Exhibit, presenting how their ideas create both positive impact and sustainable business value as confident Kidpreneurs.