Students from the Young Entrepreneurs Academy were at Fairlane Village mall Saturday to turn their bright ideas into dollars.
Sharon Thomas, Orwigsburg, was sold on some of the ideas. Looking at Collin Felty’s Skook cup holder, she wrote her name down on a sheet to order one.
“Is he taking orders for these? I will take one for my car,” Thomas said.
She said the invention was “ideal.” Felty’s idea was to have a cup holder that can accommodate drinks in square containers, such as Guers’ pints, and even regular drink cups.
She also liked the idea of Fuel for Earth, a unique way of recycling paper so it can be a fuel source. Jacob Challenger said he took a trip to a recycling plant and learned about how much of the paper can actually be recycled if it is not contaminated with other substances. Wanting to save the environment, he devised a process that gets the paper soaked, shredded, and pressed into blocks and eventually sold. He said it is good for wood stoves and fireplaces. The average burn time is 90 minutes, he said.
They were two of eight students at the mall Saturday for the YEA! Schuylkill Trade Show. This is the second year for the program, also known as YEA!. It is focused on students in sixth to 12th grades. The program helps student develop a business plan, meet business leaders in the field who can provide insight, market their ideas and other things. Students in the program presented their ideas to an investor panel last month at Penn State’s Health and Wellness Center. Monetary prizes were awarded.
Darian Stripe was named the YEA! Saunders Scholars Winner for her product called Ygeia Naturals, a shampoo. E. Philip Saunders is a entrepreneur and philanthropist who has provided funding for scholarships, according to www.yeausa.org.
Stripe was given $2,500 in the event in March, according to newspaper archives. Stripe said she is looking forward to attending the Young Entrepreneurs Academy Regional Competition in Rochester, New York, on May 6. She will compete against 99 others.
“I’m very excited,” she said.
Stripe said the name of her product is the greek word for health. She has always been interested in natural products and wanted a more affordable way to buy them, so she created her own. The ingredients include coconut oil, witch hazel and other essential oils. She said some products in shampoo can be bad for you, including sodium laurel sulfate.
“The cleaning power of (sodium laurel sulfate) is overwhelming and it strips hair and skin of necessary natural oils and beneficial bacteria needed for health skin and hair,” according to the pamphlet by Stripe.
Attending the weekly sessions has helped her in her pursuit to start her own business, Stripe said.
“I definitely want to own my own business,” she said.
Stripe said the program is beneficial and had this to say to those who have something they want to see become reality: “The biggest thing is the mindset and the will to keep pushing through.”
Carol Boyer, program manger for YEA!, said students will graduate the program 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Penn State Schuylkill Health and Wellness Building.
She agreed the program is one that will set future entrepreneurs on the path to success.
“It’s an opportunity very few people get,” she said.
Students interested in learning more may email Mary Jo Moss, program director, at mmoss@schuylkillchamber.com.