The women of Mary Kay recently partnered with the Boss Club Foundation to inspire student entrepreneurs in Texas to achieve their own dreams.
The Boss Club Foundation, which aims to inspire confidence and ignite creativity in students through the pursuit of entrepreneurship, just concluded their 2020 Summer Entrepreneurship Program with nearly 1,000 students ages 7-18 in North and Central Texas. The program tasked students with starting and running their own real businesses over the course of three weeks and beyond. Students chose between five self-guided kits with everything to create a simple product business—think dog treats, bath bombs, cake pops, fudge and hand soap. For students with their own ideas, a video course was created that helped them create and launch their own business ideas from scratch.
Mary Kay, a leading advocate for female entrepreneurs across the world, sponsored 25 girls from underserved areas around Dallas to participate in the program. Madeline Littrell, Mary Kay manager of Global Corporate Citizenship & Sustainability, recorded an in-depth video course on developing a purpose-driven business—a topic close to Mary Kay’s heart. The brand also provided over 1,000 units of hand sanitizer so that students could interface with their customers safely.
“Through more than 56 years of empowering women to follow their dreams, entrepreneurship has become synonymous with Mary Kay,” said Deborah Gibbins, chief operating officer at Mary Kay Inc. “Boss Club Foundation’s Summer Entrepreneurship Program empowers local youth with real-world lessons that go beyond traditional learning—interpersonal communication, relationship-building and creative thinking, among many others. We are thrilled to play a part in helping the next generation achieve their entrepreneurial dreams.”
By all accounts, the program was a huge success. Student entrepreneurs started hundreds of small businesses and many chose to donate a portion of their profits to organizations in their local communities. A survey conducted after the program revealed that nine out of ten students would like to continue to pursue entrepreneurship in the future.
“The 2020 Boss Club Summer Entrepreneurship Program was a major success, and Mary Kay played a key role in making that happen,” said David Grubbs, Co-Director of the Boss Club Foundation. “They directly enriched the lives of our students through not only their financial support, but also through coaching our students to identify and live out their business’ purpose as an entrepreneur. Their involvement and subject-matter expertise made a difference in our community during a season when it was needed the most. We’re honored to partner with like-minded companies like Mary Kay that seek to inspire confidence and ignite creativity in the lives of students.”
