Students at Southeastern High School learn business by turning blight into beauty

DETROIT - Jan. 21, 2016 - PRLog -- Detroit, MI –

A group of teens refuse to be misjudged in an area severely affected by the decline in population and industry in Detroit.  While many equate Detroit with blight, crime, and poverty, these teens are creating hope and a brighter future for Detroit and its young people.

Shut out from many opportunities, students in Teacher Roxanne Bohanan-Turner’s Entrepreneurship Class at Southeastern High School are demonstrating that they should not be underestimated. These teens saw a chance to make and sell wreaths out of grapevines growing wild throughout their neighborhood around Southeastern High School.  What began as a class project guided by the Hantz Foundation and Hantz Farm’s President, Mike Score, soon turned into a full-fledged business when Carhartt, the international clothing brand, partnered with the students to sell their products out of their flagship store in Detroit.

“People say Detroit is run-down and dirty, but this is a project that’s cleaning up [the city] and starting a business, so it shows that teenagers from Detroit do have business skills and know how to keep their own city clean.” –Mi’Cole Owens

The Hantz Foundation is committed to changing “1 Square Mile” at a time, starting in the area surrounding Southeastern High School by working closely with its students, teachers and community members. Under the guidance of the Hantz Foundation and working with a budget of zero dollars, these teens demonstrate innovation and entrepreneurial creativity as they started a business, created a product and partnered with a major American brand. The students are using profits from their sold-out inventory to seed their next business; they have big plans for the future and look forward to continuing to defy expectations.

Here is a link to a short video about their project: https://youtu.be/xOHM8WTBn-0



###

MEDIA

FACEBOOK:       http://www.facebook.com/1SquareMile

INSTAGRAM:     @1SquareMile (https://www.instagram.com/1squaremile/)

HASHTAGS:       #1SquareMile #Blight2Business #OurCityisBeautiful

WEBSITES:         http://www.hantzfoundation.org

   http://www.carhartt.com

Film by   http://www.AtlasIndustries.tv

PHONE:          248.304.2855 Ext. 1440 (Anthony Endress, Hantz Group)

EMAIL:          socialmedia@atlasindustries.tv