Business plan program helps kids stay in school

On Saturday, June 7, BUILD will host the third annual Youth Business Plan Competition.

Participants are 9th grade students from Another Course to College, Charlestown High School, Community Academy of Science and Health, and Jeremiah E. Burke High School.

Last year’s winner, the team called ReVamp’D from the Community Academy of Science and Health in Dorchester, won first prize with their business plan for customizable aglets for sneakers. In 2012, the winning team, The Dream Team from Charlestown High School, won for their business plan to create customizable bamboo iPhone cases.

BUILD acts as a very large business incubator. Winners will receive seed money to transform their business plan into a real business. Funding for the program comes from corporate partnerships, and businesses that donate more than $100,000 may select an employee to serve as a judge in the competitions.

BUILD is a public charity whose aim is to engage youth, particularly from low-income families in urban areas. They carry out their mission by way of a four-year extracurricular program that encourages academic success, decreases the dropout rate, and fosters entrepreneurship among its participants.

The final round competition and awards runs from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Suffolk University’s C. Walsh Theater.