WSE operates the Livingston Farmers Market and we use it to teach kids basic business skills, sustainable practices and the importance – and joy – of giving back to their community. We work with kids to develop products they can sell at the Farmers Market.
This is the seventh year children have sold goods at the Market. In the beginning it was an after-thought, done as a free service to the community. But after the third year, parents began reporting the positive changes they had seen in their children because of the experience. Children learned to make monetary change, interact with adults, set up displays, and sell their products. They also learned some hard lessons about balancing supply with demand, especially when dealing with baked goods, and the importance of reinvesting some of the profits in materials in order to have products to sell at the next week’s market.
Given these results, WSE initiated a Youth Booth Program in 2006. Upon the urging of parents, WSE now charges the children a modest $2.25 booth fee to demonstrate that there are costs to doing business. Our Farmers Market Master and Producer Coordinator advise the kids about products and encourage them along the way. To teach them the importance of giving back to their community, WSE allows the kids to donate their booth fees to the charities of their choice.
2010 saw 55 kids participate in the Young Entrepreneur Stewardship program. At WSE’s annual Holiday Farmers Market, the children donated $152 from their Youth Booth fees to LINKS for Learning. In 2009, 22 kids participated in the program. On December 5th the children donated $111 to Mania, a local youth-oriented non-profit. In 2008 the children donated $112 to Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Park County.
WSE has expanded the program to reach more children. In early 2009, we partnered with Junior Achievement to bring the Biz Kid$ video program to Livingston. Biz Kid$ is a 13-episode PBS show that teaches children about money, business, and how to take charge of their financial future. We also partnered with LINKS for Learning and the Extension Service to involve 4-H students and Big Brother and Big Sisters.
WSE is organizing our third summer camp with LINKS, 4-H, and Junior Achievement in 2011. The curriculum, instruction, and Biz Kid$ will impart the theory. WSE provides the Farmers Market as a mechanism for the children to apply the knowledge. The program has strong support from Park County Superintendent of Schools, Hannibal Anderson, because children can immediately apply what they learn and directly benefit from the experience.
A sincere Thank You to our 2010 sponsors, Park County Community Foundation, Mountain Sky Guest Ranch, 1st Interstate Bank, and Montana Financial Education Coalition. Their generous support enables us to bring this valuable education to Park County children.
