April 2015
Dear Friends,
What a fun month!!  We've been really busy attending TREP$ Marketplaces and meeting these amazing young entrepreneurs! 

Meanwhile, we are also working on filming the new TREP$ KickOff DVD and designing the new and improved TREP$ Website with more features to help the TREP$ Committee, parents and young entrepreneurs!
 
We appreciate all the positive feedback that we have been receiving at the Marketplaces.  You know from experience how beneficial this is for kids in this age group and that makes you uniquely knowledgeable about how this program impacts kids.  Thank you so much for helping us spread the word to family and friends at other schools. 

As always, contact us with your thoughts-
Pamela deWaal and Hayley Romano



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Meet Luke and Bobby, of LegoSoapLand

 

We are Luke and Bobby and we're 5th graders at Helen Morgan School in Sparta, NJ. We were so excited to embark on the TREP$ journey and immediately began brainstorming different ideas to create and sell. After searching through many ideas, we found a great idea online and decided to make Lego soaps in different colors and scents! We figured everyone uses soap and it is a FUN way to get clean! As we researched the materials needed, we also took time to come up with a catchy name for our product - Luke and Bob's LEGO SOAP LAND!

 

The night of the TREP$ Market place at school was exciting. We were very pumped up. However, a lot of planning went into the creation of our product. Before the big night of selling we had to stay after school for workshops. We learned how to make a budget and a profit. We also worked on creating a poster, which would help us promote the name of our business. Our teacher mentors also helped us understand how to be professionals when dealing with the people who we do not know when trying to sell our product the night of the marketplace.  

 

When the big evening rolled around we quickly set up our store. Our principal had an opening ceremony and then cut the ribbon to start the shopping fun. We had a lot of customers come shop and buy our soaps. It was hard work trying to sell our product. By the end of the night we had $152.00 in our hands. That was a profit of $72.00.   We were surprised and thrilled with only have 6 bags of soap left.

 

TREP$ was the best day ever. We are so glad that we had the chance to participate in the TREP$ program at our school. We hope we have the chance to do it again someday.

 

Meet Amanda, of Pet Rock Adoptions


My name is Amanda and I am a 4th grader at John F Kennedy Elementary School in Wayne NJ. I have attended the TREP$ Marketplace at my school since Kindergarten and I was very excited it was finally my turn to join the entrepreneurs club at my school this year. Recently having added a new puppy to our family I wanted to create a product for the TREP$ Marketplace, that could help raise money for the local Animal Shelter in our town. I thought about what product people would like and brainstormed with my family a few ideas, through the process of brainstorming I came up with a concept that was not a typical product but an actually an Pet Rock Adoption Service. The way the Adoption service would work is that people would come up to the table and then I would explain to them how the rocks need good homes and how fun adopting one can be for their family. They are allergen free pets, that don't eat or poop and make great family pets. The money raised from adoption fees would would directly go to help the local Animal Shelter.

 

I went outside and found about 100 rocks in my neighborhood, I brought them inside washed them off and dried them. Since I am very creative I asked my mom to buy me some googly eyes online, when they got in I hot glued them on and added some accessories like hair, mustaches etc. I made them all different so each one would be very unique. 

 

I made some signs for my Business "Amanda's Pet Rock Adoptions" and printed out the Adoption Certificates I would attach and also made paper bags with holes in them so the pets could breath. The day of the TREP$ Marketplace I set up my table and people started to come by and look at all the pet rocks, people walking around the market asked me about the pets and I told them about them and about the pricing small $1, medium $2, Large $3. Lots of people adopted them even the Mayor of Wayne stopped by and adopted one!! Some people told me how they loved the idea and even put money into the donation jar I had at the table. The most exciting part was when the Marketplace first opened and to see the positive reaction the people had to my business. Thanks to  TREP$, I was able to raise $202.00 for the Wayne Animal Shelter and they made me an Honorary Member of the County SPCA " Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals" for my dedication to helping out. It was so much fun to turn something I just made into a pet people would love to have in their home while helping out a great cause. GO TREP$!!!

 

Meet Matt and Joe of MJ's T-Shirts
 
Our names are Joe and Matt. We are both 11 years old and we attend the Helen Morgan School in Sparta, NJ.   Our business name is called MJ's T-Shirts. This was our first year doing TREP$ and it was an awesome experience! It was a hard process but the hard work paid off.

When we first started planning for TREP$, we met about 3 days a week to try to think of ideas for our business. We talked about how hard it would be to make certain products, and how much time it would take.

After a lot of discussion and talking with some of our friends, we decided on t- shirts for our products.  When we were making our t shirts, we were going to make them using silk screen because we thought they would look better than iron-ons.   We found a portable silk screen machine, but we had a hard time using it. With time running out and the market place only a few days away, we decided to make the t- shirts using iron-ons.   

 

We really had a lot of fun coming up with ideas for our logo and slogan.   We researched ideas on-line and came up with different ideas. We both wanted to have the word TREP$ on our shirts. We came up with three designs and logos.   One was "Keep Calm and TREP on."   Another one was "Super Kids do TREP$" using a Superman logo. And the third shirt was "Entre-BAT-neur" using a Batman logo.  

 

It was hard work, but we can't wait to participate in TREP$ again in the 7th grade!                                     
Meet Breea and Ava of A&B Recycled Journals
                                        

Making the Recycled Journal Covers was not a simple process.

It took a lot of effort, hard work and heart to make them, but I think it was worth it in the end. One reason why my partner Ava and I choose to make the Recycled Journal Covers was that we both felt strongly about ways we can help make the earth a better and cleaner place. Our catch phrase, SAVE THE EARTH ONE JOURNAL AT A TIME, is to remind people that you can make something totally awesome and it can still help the earth. The other reason was not only to get people interested in and buy our product but more importantly it was a way to reinforce that everyone can play a role in saving our earth and by purchasing our journal covers they were helping too.

 

You are probably wondering why the Journal Covers were so difficult and time consuming to make. First of all, it took many brainstorming meetings with my partner Ava and I to come up with a product that we could use recycled materials, that looked great and people would use in their daily lives. Then I remembered that my mother did a similar project with her students in the past and asked her about them. Both Ava and I thought it was an awesome idea. My Mother explained the process and showed Ava and I how to make the completed Journal Covers. Ava and I collected and cut hundreds of plastic bags and had to make sure they were lined up just right so the covers would not be lopsided. We then added more decorative pieces of plastic bags and fused them together with an iron. The second step was to bind old pieces of cardboard that we cut to size and then glued down the fused plastic bags to the journals that we created. This was the hardest part of the process because if it did not stick properly the covers would curl up in the corners or come off. The last step in the process of making the covers was to fold over the edges to the inside of the covers with duck tape. This was so frustrating because if the tape was not straight or cut properly then you had to start all over again.

 

I enjoyed the TREP$ program because it allowed me to be creative and learn how to come up with a product, market and sell them as well. My partner and I are going to continue making and selling our Recycled Journal Covers and other products that I am working on. I plan on continuing with the TREP$ program and I will continue to make recycled products to sell.

 

I hope you enjoyed the journey of how we crafted our product and what I had to say about our Journals.  --Breea 
Meet Victoria of Victoria's Groovy Girl Accessories
My name is Victoria and I am in 5th grade at JFK Elementary School. The name of my business is Victoria's Groovy Girl Accessories. I loved participating in the TREP$ program last year. This year I'm doing a new product. I thought of the idea that seashell bracelets would be perfect for little girls and women. I came up with my idea from when I went on vacation to Myrtle Beach and I did this as a craft, but when I made my bracelets I added more color. My business offered different types of gems, shells, and colors on the bracelets. I thought it was fun making the bracelets because I was able to be creative designing them. However, it was hard figuring out what glue I should use. At first my mom and I bought little tube bottles, it didn't work and it was super sticky! Eventually, we found a glue and it lasted a lot longer. I had a little help from my mom and dad. My dad helped with my display and my mom shopped with me and helped me with the gluing part. My price was $5.00 for one bracelet.                                          

During the marketplace everyone thought my product was so creative. All the little girls loved them.  I almost sold out, I ended the night with only one bracelet left! Since my business idea of interchangeable magna-headbands from last year was so successful, I also sold some this year. My display was great and had a big eye catching sign. I made an outstanding profit of about $112. I loved participating in the TREP$ Marketplace! I learned so much from the TREP$ program!