Every Thursday for the past five weeks, students taking the 3402 Business Education class have spent one hour teaching the students at the Teen REACH Center about business and entrepreneurship.

Both Karen Drage, a business education professor, and Jeanne Dau, from the Business Solutions Center, agree the project has been beneficial for both the Eastern students as well as local teens.

“It’s great on both ends,” Dau said. “The Eastern students are learning to communicate a message and get real life experience, while the students are learning a valuable lesson in business.”

The Teen REACH Center is a part of the Illinois Coalition for Community Services and is a United Way Agency.

Drage said the project started with an assignment for her class.

“I posed the challenge for them to create a challenge-based learning program, working with youth entrepreneurship and had to find a business partner to help them do so,” Drage said. “It follows President (Bill) Perry’s goal of integrative learning by merging the classroom and community and the students are doing a great job.”

Dau said her job was mainly to help the students get situated as well as supervise. Each week of the six-week program, the students focused on a different aspect of business like plans, supplies and what it takes to run a business.

“I heard from Rachel Fisher, the community service coordinator, that Teen REACH (Center) was looking for help with programming,” Dau said. “The students liked this idea and chose to work with them.”

For the final project, the Eastern students and local teens will participate in National Lemonade Day on May 1. Dau said the goal is to raise money for the Teen REACH Center, but was unsure of where the stands will be located.

“We are trying to connect the young students with the Eastern community and local business community all at once,” Dau said.

Amy Wywialowski can be reached at 581-2812 or alwywialowski@eiu.edu.>