Introducing Holistic and YEA! Chicago Partnership
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Sept. 23, 2019
Contact:
Sheila Shenoy
sheila@holisticindex.com
YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS ACADEMY CHICAGO AND HOLISTIC ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP TO HELP GIRLS PURSUE THEIR ENTREPRENEURIAL DREAMS
Holistic to take over as program manager for YEA! Chicago; Innovative program will help 20 girls learn about entrepreneurship in 2019-2020; YEA! Chicago is the only all-girls chapter of YEA! in the nation.
CHICAGO -- The Chicago chapter of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) announced today that it has partnered with Holistic on the administration and execution of the YEA! Program for the 2019-2020 school year and beyond. The new partnership will bring a data-driven, exciting approach to this special program and will allow more girls to be impacted than ever before.
YEA! Chicago is a groundbreaking program that takes female students in grades six to 12 through the process of starting and launching a real business or social movement over the course of an academic year. By the end of the class, the young women own and operate fully-formed and functioning businesses, which may be carried on after their graduation from the program.
“It is all about the girls!” said Jody LaVoie, newly-appointed Executive Director of YEA! Chicago and Female Strong. “I recently joined to help expand the organization so we can reach and inspire more girls to be future leaders of tomorrow.”
Holistic will assist YEA! Chicago in that mission through the management of the program on an ongoing basis as well as communications and media efforts. Holistic’s Sheila Shenoy will be the representative from the company working on the YEA! Program.
“At Holistic, we’re extremely excited about the partnership with YEA! Chicago,” said Tom Alexander, Holistic CEO. “We’re so proud of what YEA! Chicago has accomplished these last few years, and our missions are so closely aligned that it makes complete sense for us to work together on these projects. We think Holistic’s data-first, data-always approach will bring a new level of opportunity to the program, and we couldn’t be more enthusiastic about the potential.”
Since its inception in 2014, YEA! Chicago has had over 108 students come through the program "We couldn't be more excited about the future of women in business" said co-founder Emily Smith. “By focusing not only on the skills of building a business but on building character and a sense of self that helps a young woman engage her mind and heart...to trust herself. At that young age, it's a game changer."
“I always knew I had this fire inside of me and YEA! was the one that brought it out of me,” said Erica Williams, a recent graduate from the program and creator of TopNotch Teen, a business that helps teens get involved with volunteering and activities before college. “You can do anything you put your mind to, all you need is a little push and my push was YEA!.”
If you know of a girl in grades 6 through 12 who would benefit from this incredible program, nominate her! If you’d like to join our powerful team of amazing volunteers helping these young entrepreneurs grow, learn, and realize their dreams, contact us at info@yeachicago.org. Financial contributions to The Spirit Foundation, the 501(c)(3) parent company of YEA! Chicago, are also appreciated and help to directly impact the growth, wellbeing, and development of our students. Donate here today.
About the Young Entrepreneurs Academy Chicago