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More than 70 Trenton middle school students have teamed up to create businesses with the help of their С����Ƶ mentors, as part of a unique community partnership between the University and local schools. The young entrepreneurs will sell products they have created at the annual Market Fair event at the С����Ƶ Student Recreation Center basketball courts on April 1 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free event, which is open to the public, will have a festival atmosphere with music, games and plenty of food.

Over the semester, 31 Rider students have mentored 11 teams of students from four Trenton middle schools as part of their Leadership Development Program class (LDP 220), which earns them three credits. The Rider students meet with Professor Mark Promislo once a week, and spend another day each week working with their assigned groups at the middle schools in Trenton.

“My college students facilitate a variety of lessons with their teams, and help them brainstorm ideas for a simple business that can yield a profit at Market Fair,” says Promislo. “It’s a win-win program because both groups of students are learning new skills and applying them to a real-world challenge.”

Two weeks before Market Fair, the teams presented their business plans to a group of judges, in the hopes of securing small, no-interest loans for their businesses. The young entrepreneurs typically sell a variety of merchandise, including food and clothing, and will offer carnival games that participants can enjoy. The goal is for each team to make enough money to pay back their loan and to make a profit, which they get to keep.

Market Fair is part of a program at Rider called Minding Our Business (MOB), which advances personal and vocational development of Trenton youth through entrepreneurship education and mentoring. MOB was launched in 1996 by Dr. Sigfredo Hernandez, a tenured professor at Rider, and was seeded by a Harper Grant given to the College of Business. MOB has trained and mentored more than 1,300 Trenton middle school students, ages 11 through 14, in starting and running their own businesses.

“I’m proud of the work we have done over the last 20 years,” says Hernandez. “We have found that our middle school students really look up to their mentors, and are much more interested in going to college or starting a business after participating in the Market Day event.”

MOB’s Co-Founder and Executive Director Kevin Wortham hopes this year’s event, which is at С����Ƶ for the first time, will surpass the success of prior years.

“Market Day is really fun, and we expect that both the public and С����Ƶ students will enjoy the food and atmosphere, and help support the work of the middle school students enrolled in our program.”