Local News

CEO Chapters Seeking Partnerships

Advocates of an entrepreneurship program for central Illinois high school students will be asking area business owners and others to step up financially for the program to continue forward.

 

The Central Illinois and Sangamon Valley CEO programs, while affiliated with local school districts, are funded through community support, mostly in the form of local businesses. Melanie Brown, Facilitator of the Central Illinois CEO program that encompasses Blue Ridge, Clinton, Maroa-Forsyth, and Warrensburg-Latham Schools, calls their investors the backbone of the program.

 

 

Local business leaders are invited to be engaged in the program in some capacity from being a place for students to spend their 'classroom time' to being a mentor to a student, Lisa Shephard, Facilitator for the Sangamon Valley CEO program, says this is a great opportunity for those businesses to see the value of the program and gradually work into an investment role.

 

 

According to Brown, the program does come at a cost. Those include the costs for facilitators, insurance, and costs for students to participate in other activities throughout the year. She emphasizes any donations go right back into the program.

 

 

This will be the third year of the program and investors are asked to make a three-year commitment. Shephard is hopeful they can get most of their investors back on board, however, understands COVID has impacted the business community differently. 

 

 

Shephard and Brown are thankful they can step back and focus on the program and the kids while the CEO Board takes most of the lead on the financing piece. They both indicate the connections they make through the businesses that they visit throughout the course of the year can end up in a partnership.

 

The community can visit centralillinoisceo.com or sangamonvalleyceo.com for more information on investing or opportunities to have a hands-on role in the program. 

Townhall Top of the Hour News

Local Weather - Sponsored By:

CLINTON WEATHER

Local News

DeWittDN on Facebook