TREP$, empowering kids through entrepreneurship

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Welcome to the TREP$ Family!

JFK Elementary,
Wayne, NJ
 
Cooperstown
Middle School,
Cooperstown, NY 

TREP$ Schools

 
Paradise Knoll,
Oak Ridge, NJ
 Walter T Bergen MS,
Bloomingdale, NJ
 McKeown School,
Hampton, NJ
 Holy Spirit,
Pequannock, NJ
 Euclid School,
Hasbrouck Hts, NJ
 Birchwood School,
West Nyack, NY
 Haledon School,
Haledon, NJ
 Westbrook School,
West Milford, NJ
 Maple Road School,
West Milford, NJ
 Green Hills School,
Green, NJ
 Marshall Hill,
West Milford, NJ
 Stillwater School,
Stillwater, NJ
 Lafayette School,
Lafayette, NJ
 White Rock School,
Jefferson, NJ
 Reverend Brown School,
Sparta, NJ
 Fredon School,
Fredon, NJ
 New MiddleEast Int'l,
Riyadh, SA
Cobb Cnty District,
Cobb Cty, GA
 Valley Road School,
Stanhope, NJ
 Yara Int'l School,
Riyadh, SA
 Al Yasmin Int'l School,
Riyadh, SA
 Upper Greenwood Lake,
Hewitt, NJ
Lounsberry Hollow School,
Vernon, NJ
Cedar Hill Elementary,
Towaco, NJ
Hilldale Elem,
Pine Brook, NJ
Valley View Elem,
Montville, NJ
William Mason Elem,
Montville, NJ
Woodmont Elem,
 Pine Brook, NJ
Robert R. Lazar MS,
Montville, NJ 
JFK Elementary,
Wayne, NJ
Cooperstown Middle School,
Cooperstown, NY
Click Here! 
Quick Links...
 
Take me to the TREP$ site. Click Here!
 
I'd like you to present at a parent association meeting.  Click Here! 
 
I'd like for you to meet with my principal to get him/her excited about the program!  Click Here! 
 

Are you at a STAND STILL?  

 
Have you been getting our newsletters and hearing success stories from friends, wishing TREP$ was at your school, but are at a loss of what to do next? 
 
We will walk you through the process from how to get your administration and parent association excited, and even how to fund the program!  
 

11 year old TREP recognized for her generosity!

  Alyssa at Marketplace
Congratulations Alyssa Connors! 
The Kohl's Kids Who Care� Scholarship Program recognizes and rewards young volunteers (ages 6-18) who help make their communities a better place. 
 
This young entrepreneur chose to use her TREP$ experience to raise money for Autism Speaks by selling organic planting kits. 
 
Congratulations Alyssa!  We at TREP$ are very proud of your good intentions and your fine accomplishment of being nominated for this award!

What do the TREP$ themselves think of the experience?

 
"TREP$ was fun, informative and especially exciting!  TREP$ helped me be more understanding of profits, and let me think more than I usually do.  I think TREP$ helped me see that I can use what I learned here at home and at school.  What I liked best was the Marketplace, and all the group activities at the Workshops.  -Nick

"The TREP$ Marketplace was way beyond expectations. By the end of the event, the entrepreneurs as well as the customers were well satisfied plus overjoyed. Events such as this should take place more often!!" -Tyba Zahid
 
"TREP$ was one of the best experiences of my life.  I liked the fact that this program will prepare us for the future.  When I sold out of my product, I felt great, and I am encouraged to run a business!" -Kelly 

"The Marketplace was awesome. It was a very different and amazing experience."  -Humd
 
"The Marketplace was an excellent experience and I loved it. Such events should really be carried out to boost our morale.  -Areeba
Summer 2009
As a new school year approaches, we look back on the past year, and the wonderful growth that the TREP$ program has experienced.   Every new school translates to about fifty children's lives effected.  Our goal is to empower these young people with an entrepreneurial mindset that will benefit them in their future- helping them to present themselves well on college and job interviews, encouraging them to set goals and follow through, enabling them to be creative employees and employers,  to live their lives with open eyes and a confident spirit!  
 
This growth is thanks to you, our participating schools, sharing the stories of your students and their experiences.  Thank you for being an advocate for this experiential type of learning that is benefiting more and more children each year.  Together we can prepare our children for this ever changing world.


Pamela deWaal, [email protected]
Hayley Romano, [email protected]
 
Does experience with entrepreneurship change kids?
   Alyssa at Marketplace
A recent article in Forbes highlighted the entrepreneurial careers of six young people, and gives us a sense of how the experience effects their futures.  
 
Ephren Taylor, like many twelve year olds, wanted a great library of video games to play with.  He didn't have the money to buy them, but found a book at the library that walked him through the process of making his own.  After creating a few, he was thrilled when he realized his friends were willing to buy them for $10/game.  This experience with computers led to his next business, creating websites.  Without anyone knowing how old he was, he started selling his services on the web at age thirteen.
 
Cameron Johnson started creating party invitations for his own family at nine years old.  He called his company Cheers and Tears and broadened his market to include friends and neighbors, adding a company website. Since he already had a website, when beanie babies were hot, he realized his website could sell them as well...
 
Kids who experience entrepreneurship develop an eye for opportunity.  Rather than passively seeing where life leads them, they tend to be engaged in this world and more aware of opportunity than they would have been without this experience.
 
Click here to read the article at Forbes.com
Scholarships for Entrepreneurial Thinkers!

Zielinski, Cutting Edge Opportunities Lawn Care

$40,000 for having an Entrepreneurial Mindset! 
 
High School senior Devon Zielinski owns Cutting Edge Opportunities Lawn Care.
 
Zielinski was one of 60 high school seniors nationwide who received the McKelvey Foundation Entrepreneurial Scholarship. The scholars receive $10,000 a year over four years to attend a U.S. college or university.
 
McKelvey scholarship interviewer Paul Camara called Zielinski "a business-savvy young man who has a very well-defined business plan for growth... Devon was able to show us in the interview that he has very strong entrepreneurial qualities and shows great potential for future success as a business owner." 
 
Click here to read the Denton Record Chronicle Article by Britney Tabor.
Entrepreneurship Around the Globe!
Global Entrepreneruship Week LogoNovember 16- 22, 2009
 
For one week, millions of young people around the world will join a growing movement of entrepreneurial people, to generate new ideas and seek better ways of doing things. Countries across six continents are coming together to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week, an initiative to inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity. To think big. To turn their ideas into reality. To make their mark.

From November 16 - 22, 2009, Global Entrepreneurship Week will connect young people everywhere through local, national and global activities designed to help them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators. Students, educators, entrepreneurs, business leaders, employees, non-profit leaders, government officials and more will participate in a range of activities-from online to face-to-face, and from large-scale competitions to intimate networking events.

Click here to watch a short video all about it!
People have been writing in, answering the question, "Is TREP$ effective?"
 
SA Marketplace
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
"Initially I was bit doubtful whether this program would really make any change in our students' skill.  But it shattered my doubt and became a great success.   Our school students participated in a TREP$ marketplace on July 9th, 2009 with full zeal and excitement. Students from grade V to VIII did a wonderful job and learned the basic business skills with real time involvement. It was productive and proactive program. -Syed Ismail, Trep$ School Coordinator, Al Yasmin International School
 
"Our students' participation has been, right from the beginning, receiving favorable comments from our parents. What struck me most was the way my ideals of education merged with your plans for this very productive program.  Unfortunately, very often we all mistake rote learning and the scores obtained through such an exercise as the total summary of education, little realizing that education has far wider and deeper implications, which should enable a child to develop into a proactive and productive world citizen. Your training program which culminated with a student market brought such refreshing breeze of zephyr to my mind and heart." -M.C.Sebastian, Principal, Al Yasmin International School
 
"This program has lit the spark of business ingenuity into these young kids and who knows- this small step of today may lead them to be a Bill Gates or our very own Tatas and Birlas of tomorrow."  -Aasima Saleem, Principal - Yara International School 
 
"The students during the entire program were rather enthusiastic about learning creatively and with a predetermined objective. They imbibed that meticulous planning and a creative presentation would have a dominant role to play in marketing their products. Some of the academic areas supported by the program included math, oral presentation, creative writing, organizational skills and research, to name a few. This program provided the students a direct, hands-on learning experience. The students were able to employ their math skills in this realistic experience. Additionally, the professional environment during the workshops endeavored to develop leadership skills, practice critical thinking, solve problems creatively, demonstrate economic concepts, become risk takers, form partnerships with the business community, and begin planning their own businesses. The students were reminded in the workshops that they were not students, but "professionals" identified as "treps" in the TREP$ PROGRAM and they loved the idea of being taken seriously!"
-Syed Ehsan Zafer, Committee Chairperson, TREP$
 
"The TREP$ Marketplace was an excellent practical field work for my students. Such activities really help students to relate their theoretical / academics with real world." -Mrs. Asra, Business Studies Teacher
 
"The TREP$ Marketplace was a truly all encompassing and enriching experience for all. I personally consider the TREP$ experience as a highly rewarding, effective and practical approach that enhances a kid's personality and broadens their vision and scope.  This was an excellent and entertaining method to hone their entrepreneurship skills as well.  Kids can do a lot more; it's up to us to guide and support them, help them live their dreams to the fullest. -Khairunissa Ajaz, Yara International School