ProTapes & Specialties Awards Nonprofit Minding Our Business $5,500 toward Entrepreneurship Training

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - Feb. 22, 2015 - PRLog -- ProTapes & Specialties awarded a generous check for $5,500 to Minding Our Business, Inc. (MOB), a nonprofit organization that has been recognized as one of the premier youth entrepreneurship programs in the nation, to sponsor its after school programming for middle school students in Perth Amboy.

Headquartered in North Brunswick, ProTapes & Specialties is a company that has been dedicated to the development and marketing of pressure sensitive tapes for use in a wide range of applications and markets for 35 years and is one of the world’s largest specialty tape converters and manufacturers, servicing customers and markets in countries all over the globe. MOB began in 1997 as a community outreach program of Rider University’s College of Business Administration and received its own 501(c) 3 designation in November 2012.  Having coached and mentored more than 3,000 students on starting and running their own businesses, MOB currently operates an after-school service learning program for middle school students in Trenton and has now expanded its scope to serve both Perth Amboy and Asbury Park.

Ed Miller, President of ProTapes & Specialties, saw firsthand the impact MOB made on its students. “I was lucky enough to be asked to judge a recent MOB business plan writing competition and, simply put, I was blown away by the high caliber and sophistication of the business plans presented during the competition,” Mr. Miller said. “The quality of work displayed by the children that day demonstrated to me the effectiveness of the MOB entrepreneurial skills program.”

After this experience, Miller agreed to support MOB’s efforts to implement its after-school Service-Learning model in Perth Amboy. “ProTapes prides itself on being a positive influence in the communities in which we operate,” Miller explained. “Through our C.O.R.E. [Community Outreach Responsibility Empowerment] program, we look for ways in which we can invest in programs that help empower people who reside in the local community, programs that provide unique training and educational skills to their participates. One such program is Minding Our Business, which provides at-risk children with an opportunity to learn and develop entrepreneurial business related skills. Minding Our Business is exactly the kind of program that provides the type of self-empowerment ProTapes is looking to be a part of and that’s why we are excited to announce sponsorship of the Perth Amboy program."

The MOB Service-Learning Program launched in early February at the William C.McGinnis Middle School in Perth Amboy located on State Street. Over 12 weeks, students will learn the ins and outs of running their own business. Sessions will focus on introducing middle schoolers to entrepreneurship and cover pertinent topics including teamwork, advertising, branding, and the development and presentation of a business plan. Students from Middlesex County College serve as mentors to the young entrepreneurs in training. Each participant will be given start-up money for their business endeavor. Toward the end of the program, students will participate in a Market Fair Day in which they have the opportunity to promote their products and services to potential buyers and investors.

“ProTapes's sponsorship gives rise to a model we wish to explore replicating nationally - MOB's continued collaboration with entrepreneurs like Ed Miller could give us national traction,” said Kevin Wortham, MOB’s Executive Director. MOB also offers a Summer Program at RiderUniversity for low-income middle school students and an Advanced Program providing business coaching to MOB alumni seeking additional guidance. All of MOB programs emphasize entrepreneurship training, as well as math, reading, communication and life skills. For further information about Minding Our Business, please visit www.minding-our-business.com or call Executive Director Kevin Wortham at 609-731-9311.