Agency Details:

E CITY

E CITY's mission is to empower urban youth to be responsible for their own economic future. We do this by teaching and modeling entrepreneurship and life skills.

Description:
E CITY (Entrepreneurship: Connecting, Inspiring and Teaching Youth) is a nonprofit organization that offers entrepreneurial education to inner-city and at-risk youth. The program teaches business and life skills to greater Cleveland youth through in-school, after school and summer BizCamp formats.

E CITY offers a unique and innovative 70-hour after school educational program which focuses on entrepreneurial, business and life skills and targets students who are in the most vulnerable sections of our city. It is structured on the belief that kids in the inner city, who have mental toughness, street smarts, survival instincts and creativity, can put those innate traits to productive use, if shown how. The E CITY program helps students see the connection between academics and “real life,” and thereby increases the chances that they will stay in school.

During the 70-hour program, students learn the basics of operating a business. Working with a mentor, the students create an original business plan. Students have the opportunity to connect with professionals who offer insight from their business experiences. At the end of the program, students present their plans to a panel of judges, competing for cash prizes that are used to reinvest in their business.

History:
E CITY (Entrepreneurship: connecting, inspiring and teaching youth) was founded in January 2002 in response to a concern over the high school drop-out rate among urban teens, and the discouraging cyclical life of poverty that those drop-outs settle into.

E CITY was founded by John Zitzner, a successful entrepreneur who wanted to teach kids that they can also do what he had done, and that above all, they can take control over their own futures. Hundreds of Northeast Ohio business executives serve as volunteers for E CITY and work one-on-one with students to refine the students’ business plans.

E CITY held its first class in 2002 after receiving financial support and volunteer assistance from the community, including the city of Cleveland, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and several local community foundations. Since its first class, E CITY has taught over 100 programs in Cleveland middle and high schools. Over 1000 teens have completed the program.

To date, six E CITY students have won the prestigious international award of “Young Entrepreneur of the Year,” awarded by NFTE annually. Some students who graduated from E CITY’s program have continued their businesses.

Contact person: Jessica Koppen, Assistant Director, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (216) 881-0735

Address:

3635 Perkins Ave., Suite 5NE Cleveland, OH 44114 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.ecitycleveland.com

Directions:

This is the E CITY administrative office. Volunteers providing direct support to E CITY programs will work at other sites.

Last updated on July 16, 2009