Beyond the Bake sale: Links for Student Leaders Building and Investing in a Micro Loan Bank

Bake sales are great for raising $50 here and there. We use them at my school to raise money for humanitarian relief and school carnivals. This year the Student Council and Green Council of my middle school will put some of the hard-earned cookie capital into building a Micro Loan Bank. 7 Fridays this year, student leaders will encourage the student body to donate lunch money to our first micro loan bank, which will help to finance entrepreneurs in places like Rwanda and New Orleans. We will raise capital from green projects too like our Annual Electronic Waste Drive. Check out these links to learn more about Micro Loans, and Poverty and International Development:

One hen: this site geared to grades 4-8 was inspired by a real boy, Kenyabena Dark from Ghana. He was given chicks as a boy that inspired him to become the largest poultry producer in his country. His story and those of many others on this site explain how micro loans work.

Kiva facilitates micro loans. It connects mico-loaning communities with individuals in the international community and in the U.S. who seek loans.

Microplace also connects micro-entrepreneurs like Kiva. From this site, you can make no-fee investments that benefit both you and the poor because you can earn interest and get repaid from micro-loaning to individuals.

World Savvy is a large site with resources for Global Studies projects. This page is loaded with info and links about Poverty and International Development.

Anna renames Beat Jacks: Coola Biz Schoola

Beat Jacks isn't cutting it. Let's face it, the name conjures competition but also something more violent. So my eleven year old niece Anna thinks I should rebrand it Coola Biz Schoola. Can you think of a better brand for a Teen Entrepreneurship Web site? I challenge you. If it's good, the name will stick. Design the logo, mascot, T-shirt, bumper sticker, avatar. Catchy pitch for an app wouldn't be bad either. THANKS!

Time for Play Should be a Human Right: Free2Play

Free2Play from Not For Sale Campaign on Vimeo.

Free2Work Makes Buying Responsibly Easier

Check out Free2Work, an app that allows you to see if the products you buy or the companies you invest in are linked to labor abuses.

"Free2Work is a strategic tool to increase transparency in supply chains, empower consumers to make informed decisions, as well as mediate communications between consumers and companies."

Challenge: Use the Free2Work app for a few weeks and then tell a friend the story behind the products you bought. Is your new shirt the product of child labor? Is your chocolate sourced from West African cocoa fields where workers live in poverty and child labor is common? Why should it matter? Does it?

As an entrepreneur, is it ever o.k. to create a company where you profit at the expense of your workers' future, health, sense of self-determination? Is it ever o.k. to create a company where future generations are compromised? Whose responsibility is it to monitor businesses and ensure they are socially responsible?
Entrepreneurship=COW-F Customers, Owners, Workers and Future Generations