The Mohawk Valley Community College Foundation, Inc., was awarded $5,000 from Berkshire Bank to support the College’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!). To date, Berkshire Bank, an annual supporter of YEA! since 2017, has committed $30,000 to the program.
“Supporting young entrepreneurs in becoming business owners is a passion of mine,” said Matthew Nicholl, vice president of business banking at Berkshire Bank. “It also aligns with the core values at Berkshire Bank in providing financial education to assist local communities and fueling small businesses. We believe empowering the success of those who we serve drives our own success.”
YEA! is a program that transforms local middle and high school students into real, confident entrepreneurs. This afterschool program takes students in grades six through 12 through the process of starting and running their own real businesses. Students work in close cooperation with local business leaders, community members, and educators to develop ideas and goals, write business plans, pitch to potential investors, obtain funding, develop their brand identity, and more. The program’s goal is to help students embrace their passion, energy, creativity, and talents; launch a venture; and develop a stronger and more diverse small-business community in the region.
“The Young Entrepreneurs Academy is a one-of-a-kind program which helps develop the next generation of business leaders in our region and provides an opportunity for students to gain immeasurable skills to aid them in business, college, and beyond,” said Michelle Truett, YEA! program manager and instructor. “In 2022, we graduated our 10th YEA! class, marking just over 130 students who have created their own businesses in industries ranging from clothing, food, the arts, technology, services and more.”
For more information about YEA! or to register for the program, contact Truett via email at michelle@484design.com or by calling 315-534-0067.
About Berkshire Bank
Berkshire Bank is transforming what it means to bank its neighbors socially, humanly, and digitally to empower the financial potential of people, families, and businesses in its communities as it pursues its vision of being the leading socially responsible omni-channel community bank in the markets it serves.
Berkshire provides business and consumer banking, mortgage, wealth management and investment services. The Bank has approximately $11.6 billion in assets and operates 105 branch offices in New England and New York. Headquartered in Boston, Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE: BHLB) is the parent of Berkshire Bank and is a member of the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index. To learn more, call 800-773-5601 or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Contact:
Alicia Jacobs, AVP, Public Relations Officer, communications@berkshirebank.com
About YEA!
The Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) is a groundbreaking and exciting program that transforms local middle and high school students into real, confident entrepreneurs. Through the year-long program, students in grades 6-12 generate business ideas, conduct market research, write business plans, pitch to a panel of investors, and launch their very own companies. YEA is now in 168 communities across America and has been in the Utica area with Mohawk Valley Community College for 10 years.