YEP Young Entrepreneur PRogram
Award Presentation Ceremony

Taylor Buford is 15 year old student who grew up in the west side community of Austin where she attended Spencer School of Technology. She was a part of the James R. Jordan Foundation's 2013 Pilot Young Entrepreneur Program and the recipient of a micro-loan for her business model proposal. On January 15th, 2014 she was presented with a check from Mrs Jordan and Board President, Jodie Benjamin, for three hundred dollars to go towards starting her own business-Mony'es Bakery. This micro-loan was funded by our partners JP Morgan Chase and State Farm.
This ceremony was the culmination of a newly piloted program where the students were mentored on the different aspects of starting and running a business by teachers and professionals.
15 year old, Ms. Taylor Buford receiving the grand prize from Mrs. Jordan, and our Board President, Jodie Benjamin, for her business model "Mony'es Bakery".
Kevin Gordon (Assistant Director Community Outreach) from UIC CHANCE speaking with parents and students at our annual "Beyond A-Team" College Fair.
(click the photo above to visit UIC CHANCE's homepage)

FEATURED PARTNER: UIC CHance

We are grateful for partners like the UIC CHANCE Program who give their time and effort to help us accomplish our mission of strengthening families, motivating youth and ensuring high quality academic opportunities for children in underserved communities. The UIC CHANCE Program is a multicultural academic support program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. They strive to provide their students with personalized and customized services as they transition from high school into the university setting. To them, early outreach is important, which is why they have teamed up with the James R. Jordan Foundation, and are dedicated to "giving back" key resources, such as one-on-one mentoring, scholarships, and job placement to support youth in Chicago.

UIC CHANCE has been involved in many of our programs and events over the last two years. They have provided volunteers for our annual "Read With Me!" Festival, "Beyond A-Team" College Fair and our annual Holiday Celebration. They also teamed up and helped mentor students in our inaugural YEP (Young Entrepreneur Program)