BIZ SKILLS FOR YOUTH.

• Author: CHAVEZ, LORENZO
• Position: YouthBiz teaches youth business - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

A DENVER PROGRAM TEACHES INNER-CITY YOUTHS BIZ BASICS.

Investing in inner-city kids might sound like a risky proposition. That is, until you meet the energetic young people who run YouthBiz, the after-school, small-business program run by teen-agers in northeast Denver.

Founded seven years ago, YouthBiz has established itself as an alternative for teens in danger of joining gangs or dropping out of scbool.

YouthBiz teaches business basics and management skills to about 75 middle- and high-school students in Denver's Cole, Whittier and Curtis Park neighborhoods. "We started as a small-business incubator with a strong family component," explained Executive Director Brian Barhaugh, who established the 501(c)3 program with eight neighborhood youths at a small abandoned storefront in 1992.

The program, headquartered in a 5,000-square-foot former warehouse in Denver's Cole neighborhood, has trained more than 300 young people. Many receive high-school credit in the process.

According to a YouthBiz profile, the typical program participant is 15 years old, has one or more friends who have died violently, and comes from a low-income, single-parent home.

"YouthBiz is about developing youth leadership and long-term transferable skills," Barhaugh said. "We're developing a support system for inner-city teens that enables their talents to emerge."

Barhaugh's family values business incubator has developed into five enterprises. One, a mail-order and fulfillment house operation, vends the federal Ameri-Corps program's 20-item product line. Products include T-shirts, sweatshirts and tote bags made by YouthBiz, plus the sale of outsourced mugs, caps, watches and other good stuff.

Another program handles contract screen printing for companies including Newmont Mining Corp. and US Bancorp Piper Jaffray, and nonprofits from Little League teams to family reunions.

A key success factor: Students receive minimum wage for their work. Youths also must bring weekly school progress reports to stay in the program. The program meets three times a week. Its waiting list is long, ranging from 30 to 50 and more youths at a time.

Students learn every job in the T-shirt shop, from packing, shipping, mixing ink and printing to production management and marketing.

"YouthBiz teaches students real world skills,"...