On March 5, the Hustle PHX team launched a new partnership with New Culture, which is “an evolving ecosystem, hyper-focused on the flourishing of youth aging out of foster care” (quoted from their website, which can be found by clicking here). Joined by, and with the help of, several new volunteers, the Hustle PHX team began administering Part One of our Youth Entrepreneurship Program (YEP) 101 course.

As you may know by now, for the first week we had our welcome week, which typically consists of the students and team taking some time to get to know each other as well as laying a foundation for the weeks that follow. This included things like:

• Introductions between the students and team, which served as the starting point to these new relationships.
• Watching ‘Start with your WHY’ from famous comedian Michael Jr. to help the students learn about the importance of knowing WHY they do what they do and not just WHAT they do.
• The (previously covered) H.U.S.T.L.E.R. Wisdom section, where examples are pulled from both the streets and the Bible to help communicate key topics about entrepreneurship.

And during the course of the night, the students not only got to learn about the members of our team individually, but also (more) about Hustle PHX as an organization. Overall, it was a nice kickoff to this partnership that even had members of the site staff joining in at certain points. Questions were asked and answered, experiences and advice were shared, and discussion was had to help the students internalize the lesson information and think about how to apply it to each of their own lives. After taking some time to complete their worksheets and sharing with the group, class was then dismissed.

• I want to finish school and become a registered nurse.
• I want to pursue a football career and help out my teammates physically as well as prepare them mentally.
• I would like to teach black girls to love their hair. I want to teach them about different hair textures, how to do hair, and how to feel good about themselves.

Typically I start off closing thoughts with my own thoughts; however, this time I’d like to start off with some others. Above are the thoughts of several participants from this night’s lesson. I highlight them because, in spite of being put into the foster care system, these individuals still aspire to do great things. I applaud them for that because while they could use the trauma that they’ve experienced as a means to hurt others and serve themselves, they instead desire to serve others. They don’t let their negative experiences define them; if anything, they use them as fuel for the future. In an age where things like selfishness, vengeance, and hopelessness would seem to prevail, these dreams could alternatively signify a new culture.

To all of our volunteers, donors, and supporters, thank you! And to those who would like to join us on our mission, helping to raise up the next generation of restorative hustlers, see below for the ways that you can get involved:

Side Note: As of right now, the remaining participants have successfully completed part one of our YEP 101 course, with part two coming up soon. With that in mind, we would like to let you know that it’s not too late to volunteer with us and also encourage those that may have a heart for this to do so!